Direct experience as well as exposure to multiple forms of violence can have a compounding negative impact on children’s development. Despite the strong relationship, the fields of practice addressing different forms of violence have largely been silo-ed. This brief summarizes five connections between child maltreatment, intimate partner violence, and community violence and makes the case for an integrated movement for safety in our homes and communities. It draws on recent research and analysis on the linkages between multiple forms of violence and offers examples of emerging actions to address the linkages.

Adverse community experiences – such as concentrated poverty, segregation from opportunity, and community violence – contribute to community trauma, which can exacerbate adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). This brief explains the relationship between ACEs and adverse community experiences, thus making the case for focusing on preventing and addressing trauma at the community level, in addition to the growing focus on individual trauma. It also provides examples of emerging strategies to address community trauma and build community resilience.

Community violence interferes with young children’s attainment of key competencies — cognitive, sensory, muscular, emotional, social and behavioral — and compromises the capabilities of caregivers to provide supportive environments for their children. However, communities provide the conditions in which people can live free from fear of violence and harm from violence; they support opportunities for active learning and optimal growth in the early years. This fact sheet highlights the research on the relationship between community safety and positive early childhood development. Further, it

In recognition of the dramatically shifting national landscape, and with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit, nearly 25 leaders in community violence prevention gathered to strategize about where we go from here – for cities and counties, and as a network and movement – in support of safer communities. The meeting’s dialogue and outcomes underscore the value of speaking truth to power. While the meeting leveraged relationships forged through Prevention Institute’s UNITY City Network, the key themes and directions highlight the state of

Prevention Institute has produced a video that explores the intersection of land use and violence prevention. This video came out of our 2015 Community Safety by Design paper, our 2016 HEALU Network summit in Los Angeles on land use and violence prevention, and a continued exploration of these intersectional issues.

Time and again, we are heartbroken by the news of another mass shooting. Part of our healing must be the conviction that we will do everything in our power to keep these tragedies from happening in a nation that continues to face a pandemic of gun violence. It's not only the high-profile mass shootings that we must work to prevent, but also the daily death-by-guns that claims more than 30,000 lives every year. Our recommendations for preventing gun violence begin with attention to reducing immediate risks related to guns, broaden to address the underlying contributors to gun violence, and then address the prevention infrastructure necessary to ensure effectiveness. We also include recommendations related to new frontiers for research and practice, to ensure that we continue to learn, innovate, and increase our impact over time.