What is violence prevention?

The policy brief examines the lack of a uniform definition of violence prevention in South Africa, presenting perspectives from children, researchers, NGOs, government officials, and private sector partners. It argues that effective prevention requires moving beyond criminal justice responses to address structural drivers such as poverty, inequality, and patriarchy through a collective, multi-layered social compact.

• Effective violence prevention and the maintenance of peace require addressing structural and socio-economic drivers—specifically poverty, inequality, patriarchy, and prejudice—as well as attending to trauma and mental health.
• The absence of a commonly agreed-upon definition of violence prevention leads to fragmented action, siloed efforts, and a failure to secure necessary resources.
• Current South African policy definitions of violence prevention are not uniform; for example, the National Strategic Plan on Gender-based Violence focuses on risk factors, while the 2016 White Paper on Safety and Security employs a three-tiered model of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention.
• There is a consensus across different sectors that preventing violence requires purposeful, collective action from all of society rather than relying solely on quick fixes or criminal justice responses.

APA

Gould, C., Miller, S., Mchuchu, T., Ryan, J., Okeke, J., Akum, F., Nyoni, C., Moruane, S., Dippenaar, W., Gevers, A., Watson, P., Dartnall, E., Shai, N., Newham, G., Machabaphala, T., Mkhize, Z., Connors, J., Korth, M., van Heyningen, T., ... Mufamadi, D. (2021). What is violence prevention? Institute for Security Studies. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief-161.pdf

Chicago

Gould, Chandré, Stephen Miller, Tarisai Mchuchu, Jill Ryan, Jonathan Okeke, Fonteh Akum, Cynthia Nyoni, et al. What is violence prevention? Institute for Security Studies, 2021. https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief-161.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{gould2021what, author = {Gould, Chandré and Miller, Stephen and Mchuchu, Tarisai and Ryan, Jill and Okeke, Jonathan and Akum, Fonteh and Nyoni, Cynthia and Moruane, Sinah and Dippenaar, Wilmi and Gevers, Anik and Watson, Patricia and Dartnall, Elizabeth and Shai, Nwabisa and Newham, Gareth and Machabaphala, Tshepiso and Mkhize, Zithobile and Connors, Judy and Korth, Marcel and van Heyningen, Thandi and Parenzee, Penny and Mazibuko, Ayanda and Moeketsi, Joan and Mahlangu, Thulani and Amisi, Matodzi and Mufamadi, Diketso}, title = {{What is violence prevention?}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2021}, url = {https://issafrica.s3.amazonaws.com/site/uploads/policybrief-161.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }