Why Violence Reduction is a Public Health Issue

The violent murder of Sarah Everard and Sabina Nessa, at the hands of a stranger, is truly shocking and understandably has prompted a huge outcry from the public, calling for action by the police to better protect women.  But can changes to the way the police service operates, and longer prison sentences for perpetrators, stop such acts of violence? The evidence suggests that they will not. The causes of violence are complex, and reducing violence needs careful consideration of the causes, many of which so often have their roots in early childhood. 

Detective Chief Superintendent, John Carnochan, now retired, co-founder and co-director of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit (SRVU), left a lasting impression on me and many other delegates when he spoke as our Keynote speaker at What About The Children?’s national conference some years ago.  He described the police as ‘the service of last resort’ when it comes to seeking the reduction in violence. John spoke with amazing eloquence about how he had come to this view, based on many years of investigating incidences of violence and those who had committed violence, referring to the ‘back story’ and negative life experiences of so many of the perpetrators.  Through his years of experience, he had become aware of the impact of early life stress (ELS), adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), parental alcohol and drug misuse on the children.  John observed that the majority of those who are charged with committing violent crimes have not had ‘a good childhood’.  As Head of the SRVU he urged national and local political leaders, seeking to reduce violent crime, to invest in the wellbeing of babies and their families, increase the numbers of Health Visitors, improve housing, and provide better support for schools and communities.  He was very clear that having more police officers would not prevent the causes of violence. In a striking phrase, John said, “you can’t police your way out of this problem. ”Pre-Birth to Three: Detective Chief Superintendent John Carnochan - Importance of the early years - YouTube  

There is now a huge raft of scientific evidence on early brain development and many government reports, too numerous to mention here, that support John Carnochan’s view about the importance of early childhood and why children need to be properly nurtured and cared for to successfully reduce violence.  The Rt. Hon Dame Andrea Leadsom MP, in her Chair’s introduction to the Policy paper ‘The best start for life: a vision for the 1,001 critical days’ published March 2021, said: 

 ‘Two is too late! We spend billions on challenges in society, from lack of school readiness to bullying to poor mental health to addictions and criminality; and further billions on conditions such as obesity, diabetes, and congenital heart disease. Yet, the building blocks for lifelong emotional and physical health are laid down in the period from conception to the age of two and we don’t give this critical period the focus it deserves. Prevention isn’t only kinder, but it’s also much cheaper than cure – what happens to an infant in the 1,001 critical days is all about prevention, and a strong, supportive policy framework in this area can truly change our society for the better, while saving billions for taxpayers’. The best start for life: a vision for the 1,001 critical days - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, in reply to a question from the Rt. Hon Dame Andrea Leadsom in Parliament on Health and Social Care, said, ‘I know my Rt. Hon friend the Chancellor is determined to ensure that we get the proper funding for early years because the investment that we make in those first three years repays society and families massively’. https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2021-09-07/debates/885F7042-E007-4868-8B37-4C2546541114/HealthAndSocialCare#contribution-DE5AADB2-13EA-43B3-B19A-B879ABD5B8A6.

It will bring no comfort to the families of Sarah Everard, Sabina Nessa and others to be told that the abduction and murder of women by a stranger is rare Crime in England and Wales - Office for National Statistics (ons.gov.uk) or that men are nearly twice as likely as women to be victims of violent crime or that boys are more likely than girls to be victims of violence, Statistics | Men & Boys Coalition (menandboyscoalition.org.uk). We should not and must not be complacent about violence against women, indeed violence against any section of society, but protecting women from violence will not be achieved by putting a police officer on every street corner, viewing all men as perpetrators of violence, or making women and girls too frightened to go about their lives. The determinants of violence are both personal and social and inform why it is necessary to take a public health approach to reducing violence. Public Health isn’t just about medicine; it draws on a broad range of knowledge from epidemiology and sociology to criminology, education and economics. Reducing violence needs society to shift its focus by beginning at the beginning, ensuring that all babies and young children grow up in supportive safe homes and communities, where they receive appropriately responsive loving care, especially during the critical period of brain development from conception to three, enabling them to develop the capacity for empathy and kindness.  

Written by a What About The Children? Trustee