Violence Prevention

Violence is defined as “the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment, or deprivation. This includes neglect and all types of physical, sexual and psychological abuse” (World Health Organisation). Family violence takes a variety of forms including the maltreatment of children, violence between intimate partners and the abuse of older adults.

“Violence is one of the biggest health issues facing individuals, families, and societies today. It is estimated that injury and violence contribute to 14.5 percent of the burden of disease in the developed world and 15.2 percent in the developing world. Violence is overtaking infectious diseases as a main cause of premature death worldwide” (Institute of Gender and Health, Canadian Institutes of Health Research).

The elimination of all forms of violence begins with prevention. For more information on Canada’s strategy for violence prevention, please visit the Family Violence Initiative (Public Health Agency of Canada).

What you will find

These resources provide Canadian and international information to help you plan public health programs in order to prevent violence that impacts all members of your community. Women, children, Aboriginal peoples, and seniors face heightened risk of violence. For more information, please visit the Best Practices section for interventions related to violence prevention.

Data

A first step to planning a program to prevent violence is to understand the topic through surveillance data.

Canadian Data

Aboriginal

Children/Youth

Gender-based Violence

Seniors

Provincial/Territorial Data

Alberta

British Columbia

Prince Edward Island

New Brunswick

Quebec

International Data

Australia

New Zealand

United Nations

United States

World Health Organisation

Government Strategies (Frameworks, Action Plans, etc.)

Canadian Strategies

Aboriginal

Children/Youth

Gender-based

Seniors

Provincial/Territorial Strategies

Alberta

British Columbia

Manitoba

New Brunswick

Newfoundland & Labrador

Northwest Territories

Nova Scotia

Ontario

Prince Edward Island

Quebec

Saskatchewan

International Strategies

Australia

France

Organization for Economic Collaboration and Development

United Kingdom

United States

World Health Organization (WHO)

Guidance

Canadian Guidance

Provincial/Territorial Guidance

Alberta

British Columbia

Prince Edward Island

Quebec

International Guidance

Australia

United States

World Health Organization

Systematic Reviews of the Research

Systematic Reviews of the Research from HealthEvidence.org:

Children/Youth

Gender-based

Search more systematic reviews.