Violence: what can we do?
Plenary session 7
Thursday 18 June 2009
- Chair: Rachel Partridge, Consultant in Public Health, NHS Dorset
- Jo Nurse, National Lead for Public Mental Health and Well-Being, DH
- Alastair Leyland, Head, MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit
- John Carnochan, Head of Violence Reduction Unit, Strathclyde Police
- Peter Donnelly, Professor of Public Health Medicine, University of St Andrews
Violence – it is preventable
A young man, covered in blood, lies on a hospital bed. A nurse’s arm is wrapped around him, offering support and comfort. Shocking scenes likes this are being repeated far too often in Scotland, according to the speakers at the seventh plenary of the FPH Annual Conference.
The hard-hitting black-and-white photographs were part of John Carnochan’s presentation about violence in Scotland. As a homicide detective he has seen a fair share of violence reduction strategies and how they work in reality, out in the streets. His message was that interpersonal violence is a public health issue and the only effective intervention is through primary, secondary and tertiary services working together to prevent violence from happening.
Jo Nurse explained how effects of violence last a lifetime: adverse childhood experiences raise the risk of becoming an alcoholic seven-fold, the risk of committing suicide goes up eight-fold in young people. Early life intervention is paramount as this is when most of the damage is done. “Violence and abuse are preventable, and everyone has a role in preventing them,” she concluded.
Alastair Leyland’s evidence on mortality rates by assault was both grim and shocking. Male mortality rates from assaults involving knives were 2.5 times higher in Scotland than the rates in comparable wealthy nations within the European region. He stressed that any strategies involving inequalities needed to consider assaults.
Peter Donnelly told the conference of the Community Initiative to Reduce Violence (CIRV), an inspirational public health measure to tackle violence in Glasgow’s East End. The city’s gangs are invited to voluntary ‘self-referral sessions’ where they are told of the two options they have: to stop the violence and get help, or to continue and take the consequences. Mothers of violence victims, basketball stars and former gang members take part to provide inspiration and share with those attending their experiences. The ones who choose the programme are referred to a ‘street worker’ to ensure their violent activities actually do stop. The evidence that CIRV is making a difference is there: so far 159 gang members are actively engaged in the programme.
There was only one word that was used to describe the plenary in the Q&A session and that was ‘powerful’. And indeed that was the point of the presentations: to empower the audience to realise that no matter how huge the problem of violence is, we do not need to feel powerless, it can be prevented.