Youth violence
UN Photo/Claudio Edinger
Worldwide some 250 000 homicides occur among youth 10-29 years of age each year – 41% of the annual total number of homicides globally. For each young person killed, 20-40 more sustain injuries requiring hospital treatment. Youth violence has a serious, often lifelong, impact on a person's psychological and social functioning.
Publications and campaign materials
- Preventing youth violence: taking action and generating evidence
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World report on violence and health, Chapter 2, Youth Violence
pdf, 284kb - Preventing violence by developing life skills in children and adolescents
- Preventing violence by reducing the availability and harmful use of alcohol
- Guns, knives and pesticides: reducing access to lethal means
- Changing cultural and social norms that support violence
- Preventing violence and reducing its impact: how development agencies can help
- Posters
WHO's youth violence prevention objectives are to:
- raise awareness of the immediate and long-term health consequences of youth violence
- highlight its preventability
- prioritize youth violence prevention in international and national health and development agendas
- reduce youth violence by supporting countries to increase capacity and establish youth violence prevention policies and programmes, and
- expand the global evidence base to cover more low- and middle-income countries.
Activities
Data collection and research
- The WHO Global Burden of Disease project includes estimates of deaths, morbidity, and Disabilty-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) due to violence against youth.
- The Global Schools-based Student Health Survey contains an optional module on violence among 13-15-year- olds.
Policy, capacity and programme development
- With the University of St Andrews and supported by the Scottish Government, WHO is working with selected low- and middle-income countries to build a comprehensive policy response to interpersonal violence, focusing mainly on youth violence.
Advocacy
- WHO publishes and disseminates evidence on youth violence prevention and campaign materials.
- WHO acts as the Secretariat of the Violence Prevention Alliance) which has a significant focus on youth violence prevention.