Download the handbook
Download the handbook
As part of its safer streets mission, the UK Government has made some big pledges about violence prevention. These include ambitions to halve knife crime and halve violence against women and girls (VAWG) by 2035. In Wales, we have specific legislation to cover Violence Against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (VAWDASV) with the Welsh Government’s Violence against Women, Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence (Wales) Act 2015 and their VAWDASV Strategy 2022-26 which also makes early intervention and prevention a priority.
With both Governments championing prevention, Public Health Wales’ Violence Prevention Programme Lead, Lara Snowdon, writes the second in a series of blog posts reflecting on the UK Government’s safer streets mission, and how this supports violence prevention in Wales. The first blog explored how a focus on primary prevention is critical to the Government’s ambition to halve VAWG and knife crime. This second post explores effective strategies for violence prevention.
Preventing violence requires collective and coordinated action. Wales Without Violence: a shared framework for preventing violence among children and young people, provides a framework to understand the key elements needed to successfully develop primary prevention and early intervention strategies to end violence among children and young people through a public health, whole-system approach. The Framework provides a blueprint for this type of coordinated action by describing nine strategies which can be used to prevent violence.
The nine strategies are the core of the Wales Without Violence Framework, spanning from the early years to early adulthood and include prevention activity which can support individuals, whole communities, and effect systemic change. You can read more about each strategy in the handbook where you can also find a theory of change which illustrates the key outcomes and impacts expected if each strategy is implemented effectively.
The Youth Endowment Fund Toolkit is also a helpful source of evidence-based information about violence prevention interventions.
Providing a safe, secure and stable home environment lessens the risk of experiencing violence and trauma during childhood, adolescence and into adulthood. This strategy focuses on supporting parents and caregivers so they can do just that. It’s about helping families and children build and sustain positive relationships and build resilience, whilst also making sure children have a quality early years and pre-school education. Types of interventions that would be included in this strategy include (but are not limited to):
Secure employment, and the high self-esteem and good mental health that come along with it, can lessen the risk of becoming involved in violence. The focus of this strategy is to ensure older children and young people can attain relevant and meaningful training and employment opportunities. Programmes could include:
When things go wrong, children and young people must be listened to, believed and helped. This strategy focuses on trauma-informed approaches to encourage children and young people who have experienced – or are concerned about – violence to access safe, appropriate and timely support. Programmes could include:
Children and young people’s risk of becoming involved in violence can be buffered through strong connections with caring adults (outside of parents and caregivers). Doing activities that encourage their skill development, creativity, learning and growth can also help. This strategy focuses on providing consistent connections with a trusted, adult role model to help children and young people learn how to have healthy relationships, challenge harmful behaviours or beliefs, and take part in activities they’re interested in. Programmes could include:
Too often, children and young people do not feel safe in their communities. Creating protective environments that allow children and young people to thrive and develop is an important strategy in promoting their physical and psychological safety, and their health and wellbeing. It can also help to end violence. ‘Communities’ can include physical places such as schools, towns and nightlife areas, as well as online spaces such as social media platforms. Activities may include:
Education settings play a crucial role in violence prevention. These are places where children and young people learn societal norms, develop a sense of belonging and acquire knowledge, skills and experience. Educational engagement is also an important protective factor in preventing violence in childhood, adolescence and throughout someone’s life. Programmes could include:
Whilst violence can happen to anyone, its adverse impacts are felt most severely in communities with high levels of socio-economic deprivation. Other social inequalities relating to ethnicity, sexuality, age, disability and gender can also increase the likelihood of violence taking place. Reducing poverty and inequality are fundamental building blocks in preventing violence and improving safety. Policies and programmes could include:
All programmes should involve communities as leaders in planning, development and implementation, and provide opportunities to connect with cultural and community identities to foster a sense of belonging.
Whilst laws alone can’t reduce violence, effectively implementing and enforcing them strengthens all strategies to prevent violence. A robust legislative and policy framework lays the groundwork to prevent violence and provides a structure for protecting victims, witnesses and children. Examples include:
An individual’s values are influenced by their family, peer group, community and society.
Efforts to promote positive social norms and values – and to reduce the impact of harmful ones – are an essential tool for preventing violence. This strategy focuses on strengthening social norms and values that support non-violent, respectful, nurturing, positive and equitable relationships for all children and young people. Programmes could include:
Informed by the views and experiences of over 1,000 people in Wales, Wales Without Violence has been designed as a guide to violence prevention that is grounded in evidence and echoes the voices of communities. It is both evidence-informed and coproduced, drawing upon evidence of what works to prevent violence among children and young people, and global good practice.
The range of voices involved in shaping this Framework demonstrates that preventing violence among children and young people must be a collaborative effort – no single sector or organisation can solve this problem alone.
In the handbook, you can find further resources, videos and a theory of change.
The next blog post in this series will explore challenges of violence prevention.
