Evidence-led violence prevention: principles and guidelines for practice

This policy brief by the Institute for Security Studies outlines principles and guidelines for designing multisectoral violence prevention interventions in communities, drawing on lessons from the South African Violence Prevention Forum.

• The composition of the group designing violence prevention responses significantly influences the outcomes. While diversity in gender, background, culture, and experience can make the process more difficult and increase the need for skilled facilitation, it ultimately leads to more creative and informed results.
• Skilled facilitation is critical for ensuring that all participants' voices are heard and valued, and for managing tensions before they escalate into conflict. Facilitators help establish a common set of values, such as empathy and active listening, to make meetings productive and generative.
• Violence prevention interventions must be adapted to the specific local context rather than using 'plug-and-play' models. Understanding a community's histories, resources, needs, and beliefs is essential to determine what is urgent, acceptable, and appropriate.
• Building trusting, meaningful partnerships across sectors is a slow but essential process for addressing complex social problems. Effective collaboration requires a shared vision and a transition from mere consultation to genuine partnership.
• Innovation in community-level change requires an acceptance of failure. While government institutions and donors often discourage it, 'failing fast' allows for quicker reflection and learning, provided there are safe, non-punitive spaces for partners to support one another.
• In 2018, the Violence Prevention Forum identified six primary barriers to preventing violence in South Africa: lack of coherence on what constitutes prevention, lack of knowledge regarding existing programmes, disagreement on priority interventions, a workforce needing healing, inappropriate resource allocation, and a lack of knowledge on how to scale successful interventions.

APA

Institute for Security Studies (n.d.). Evidence-led violence prevention: principles and guidelines for practice. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/pb139-2.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Security Studies. Evidence-led violence prevention: principles and guidelines for practice. n.d. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/pb139-2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Security Studies |title=Evidence-led violence prevention: principles and guidelines for practice |url=https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/pb139-2.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforsecuritystudiesndevidenceled, author = {{Institute for Security Studies}}, title = {{Evidence-led violence prevention: principles and guidelines for practice}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/pb139-2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }