Violence Prevention: A Call to Action

Abstract

The Landscape Of Children's Health Issues Is Changing. While This Is Obvious To Most Pediatricians, Few Would Have Predicted, Even A Decade Ago, The Prominence Of Violence And Violent Injuries In The Present Landscape Facing Children And Youth. What Was Once Seen And Addressed As A Problem Confined To Certain Populations, Particularly Poor And Minority Youth, Is Now Increasingly Visible Throughout The Nation, Crossing All Socioeconomic Boundaries, Affecting Rural, Suburban, And Urban Communities. In Just A Few Years, If Current Trends Continue, Guns Will Kill More Us Children And Youth Than Automobiles.¹ Pediatricians And Other Health Professionals Concerned About Children Must Face This Issue Head-On And Must Participate In Efforts To Turn The Tide On Violence And Its Effects On Children. The Key Is To Better Understand The Underlying Risks And Contributing Factors Surrounding This Growing Epidemic And To Clearly Define Our Role, As Individual Pediatricians And At The Professional Organizational Level, In Working To Reduce Those Risks.

The Papers Contained In This Supplement Present A Broad Overview Of Some Of The Key Factors Related To Violence As Well As An Overview Of What Is Known About The Responses To These Factors. Four Of The Papers Specifically Focus On How Violent Behavior Is Learned By And Reinforced In Children At Home,^2,3 In The Community,⁴ And Through The Media.⁵ One Paper Takes A Look At The Role Of Firearms, Particular Hand-Guns, In This Epidemic.⁶ The Last Three Papers Describe And Review Strategies For Reduction Of Violence In The Community,⁷ In The Media,⁸ And Through Advocacy At The State And National Levels.⁹