Violence Interruption Programs in Latin America and the Caribbean: Looking Back and Looking Forward

• In Event: Public Health Approaches to Violence Prevention in the Americas: Lessons in Implementation and Evaluation

Abstract

High rates of violence continue to harm communities across Latin America and the Caribbean. Police and the criminal justice system, as typical responses to violence, have a limited success because they approach violence as a criminal problem. Violence interruption programs (VIP) that address violence as a public health problem are becoming increasingly popular additions to violence prevention efforts. Innovations like hospital-based violence interruption programs intervene to break the cycle of violence by attempting to resolve the root causes that led to violence in the first place and prevent further violence from happening. They do so by providing resources like medical and psychological care, employment and education services, and conflict mediation, with community organizations leading the work. We review existing VIP programs in Latin America and the Caribbean, describing variations in how they are designed and implemented, the populations they serve, and the outcomes they typically measure. Based on our review, we discuss lessons learned and propose ways to further empower and improve how these programs operate and how they are evaluated. By centering community involvement and addressing violence as a public health problem, VIPs have the potential to create safer and more resilient communities across the region.

Authors

• Valerio Bacak, Rutgers University-Newark

• Andres F. Rengifo, Rutgers University

• Jordan Costa, Giffords Center for Violence Intervention