World Health Organization's

First Ever Global Report

on 

Violence and Health released

New World Health Organization's report presents more complete picture of Global Violence

3 October 2002 | GENEVA -- The World Report on Violence and Health is the first comprehensive report of its kind to address violence as a global public health problem. Violence kills more than 1.6 million people every year. Public health experts say these statistics are just the tip of the iceberg with the majority of violent acts being committed behind closed doors and going largely unreported. This report aims to shed light on these acts. In addition to the deaths, millions of people are left injured as a result of violence and suffer from physical, sexual, reproductive and mental health problems, says the first comprehensive World report on violence and health released today by the World Health Organization (WHO).

The death and disability caused by violence make it one of the leading public health issues of our time, says the report. Violence is among the leading causes of death for people aged 15-44 years of age, accounting for 14% of deaths among males and 7% of deaths among females.

On an average day, 1424 people are killed in acts of homicide almost one person every minute. Roughly one person commits suicide every 40 seconds. About 35 people are killed every hour as a direct result of armed conflict. In the 20th century, an estimated 191 million people lost their lives directly or indirectly as a result of conflict, and well over half of them were civilians. Studies have shown that in some countries, health care expenditures due to violence account for up to 5% of GDP.

The report challenges us in many respects. It forces us to reach beyond our notions of what is acceptable and comfortable to challenge notions that acts of violence are simply matters of family privacy, individual choice, or inevitable facets of life, said Dr Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of WHO on releasing the report. Violence is a complex problem related to patterns of thought and behavior that are shaped by a multitude of forces within our families and communities, forces that can also transcend national borders, she added.

The World report on violence and health is the first comprehensive review of the problem of violence at a global level. It focuses not only on the scale of the problem, but also covers issues related to the causes of violence and the
methods for preventing violence and reducing its adverse health and social consequences. In addition to the familiar issues of collective violence such as war or conflict, the report examines equally significant yet frequently overlooked issues such as youth violence, child abuse, elderly abuse, intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and self-inflicted violence or suicides. 

To read the complete report please click on link below:

www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/pr73/en/

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FAMILY VIOLENCE

 IS

GLOBAL

Women often face the greatest risk at home and in familiar settings, says the report. Almost half the women who die due to homicide are killed by their current or former husbands or boyfriends, while in some countries it can be as high as 70%. While exact numbers are hard to come by due to lack of reporting, available data suggest that nearly one in four women will experience sexual violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime. Most victims of physical aggression are subjected to multiple acts of violence over extended periods of time. A third to over half of these cases are accompanied by sexual violence.