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Violence and Abuse, Health Effects and Prevention
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Originating Author
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Tasneem Ismailji MD
on behalf of Academy on Violence and Abuse
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Important Resources for Violence and Abuse, Health Effects and Prevention:
Contents |
Introduction
Experiences with violence and abuse have profound adverse health effects. Each year, millions of people are subjected to violence and abuse from infancy to old age. The health effects can be immediate or long term, resulting in death, disease and disability. Violence and abuse is common and widespread across all socioeconomic, racial, ethnic, religious and educational groups. Violence has been considered a social or criminal justice issue with health professionals dealing with the consequences of violence and abuse. This is changing, as accumulating research validates the enormous toll on health, increased health care utilization and the economic impact on healthcare costs of violence and abuse. Both, the United States Center for Disease Control and The World Health Organization consider violence a serious public health problem that is preventable. The various forms of interpersonal violence, such as child maltreatment, intimate partner violence also known as domestic violence, sexual assault and elder abuse have developed in fragmented and specialized health disciplines. To increase our understanding, prevention and treatment of this complex phenomenon will require a comprehensive and coordinated healthcare response.
Definition
The World Health Organization defines violence and abuse as follows: “The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against one self, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation”
Typology of Violence
Responding to the World Health Assembly of 1996, the World Health Organization developed a classification of the different types of violence and the links between them. The major categories are self directed, interpersonal and collective violence. The nature of the violent acts can be physical, psychological and or emotional, sexual or financial and includes neglect.
Understanding the Nature of Violence
Both WHO and CDC use the Social Ecological Model as a framework for understanding the multifaceted nature of violence. Violence is a complex phenomenon that originates from different biological, social, cultural political and economic factors. This four level overlapping model- individual, relationships, community and society, not only helps in eliciting risk factors and their interplay, but is useful in developing prevention strategies.
Table of Contents
- Child Maltreatment
- Child Exposure to Intimate Partner Violence
- Bullying and Sexual Harassment
- Adolescent Dating Abuse
- Intimate Partner Violence or Domestic Violence
- Elder Abuse
- Late Life Intimate Partner Violence
- Health Effects of Violence and Abuse
- Healthcare costs of Violence and Abuse
- Prevention of Violence and Abuse
- Substance abuse and Violence
- Resilience
References
1. Krug EG et al., eds. World report on violence and health. Geneva, World Health Organization,2002. 2. http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/intimatepartnerviolence/index.html
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