The Public Health Approach to Violence Reduction

Abstract In recent years, the UK has seen the emergence of a new approach to violence reduction—the public health approach. This method prioritizes early intervention and holistic support to prevent violence upstream. This movement, based in part on a perceived success story in Scotland, has led to the founding of more than twenty Violence Reduction Units in England and Wales, and more than £200m of funding to support evidence-based interventions. This book is based on a four-year, multi-method study of the public health approach to violence reduction in Scotland and England. Drawing on 190 interviews with leading professionals working in violence reduction, The Public Health Approach to Violence Reduction provides an empirical case study of the effects of the public health approach to violence reduction in the UK. It traces the evolution of the approach through different scales of policymaking and scrutinizes the claims of its potential, using the Scottish model as a case study. The study makes the case that the public health approach to violence reduction is not a single entity, but an assorted set of principles, practices, and discourses that alter as they enter different contexts. Informed by insights from the young people directly affected, The Public Health Approach to Violence Reduction aims to anchor policy in everyday life, thereby creating a roadmap for future policy that is deeply rooted in community experience.