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1
Introduction1
T
he past 25 years have seen a major paradigm shift in the field of
violence prevention, from the assumption that violence is inevitable
to a recognition that violence is preventable. As evidence-based in-
terventions increasingly demonstrate measurable impacts on the prevalence
of violence, those who work in the field of violence prevention face the
challenge of finding new ways to disseminate information and to rapidly
deploy or scale up new programs.
At the same time, a massive change in communications platforms and
standards has occurred around the globe. These new technologies have
disrupted traditional means of communication and have provided oppor-
tunities for reaching farther and wider. Furthermore, new media make it
possible to empower whole groups to engage in community-based efforts
to prevent violence by making available the vast body of evidence-based
knowledge previously only accessible in the academic realm.
Although it is tempting to push forward quickly in order to take
advantage of these opportunities, that desire should be tempered by the
importance of advancing both holistically and cautiously to avoid the
unintended consequences of new ideas as much as possible. The fields of
communications and communications technology offer much in terms of
1 The planning committee’s role was limited to planning the workshop, and the workshop
summary has been prepared by the workshop rapporteurs as a factual summary of what
occurred at the workshop. Statements, recommendations, and opinions expressed are those
of individual presenters and participants and are not necessarily endorsed or verified by the
Forum, the Institute of Medicine, or the National Research Council, and they should not be
construed as reflecting any group consensus.
1
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2 COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY FOR VIOLENCE PREVENTION
out-of-the-box thinking that could assist in overcoming persistent obstacles,
while the violence prevention field draws on careful and considerable scien-
tific expertise in building successful interventions. Combining the strengths
of these fields, while minimizing potential harm, could prove beneficial for
preventing violence and promoting well-being around the world.
On December 8–9, 2011, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) Forum on
Global Violence Prevention convened a workshop to explore the intersec-
tion of violence prevention and information and communications tech-
nology (ICT). Dubbed “mPreventViolence,”2 the workshop provided an
opportunity for practitioners to engage in new and innovative thinking
concerning these two fields with the goal of bridging gaps in language,
processes, and mechanisms. Part of the Forum’s mandate is to engage
in multisectoral, multidirectional dialogue that explores cross-cutting
evidence-based approaches to violence prevention, and the Forum has con-
vened three workshops to explore various elements of violence prevention.3
To that end, this workshop was designed to examine such approaches from
multiple perspectives and at multiple levels of society. In particular, the
workshop was focused on exploring the potential applications of ICT to
violence prevention, drawing on experience in development, health, and the
social sector as well as from industry and the private sector. Speakers were
invited to share the progress and outcomes of their work and to engage in
a dialogue exploring the gaps and opportunities in the field.
The workshop was planned by a formally appointed committee of the
IOM, whose members created an agenda and identified relevant speakers.
Because the topic is large and the field is broad, presentations at this event
represent only a sample of the research currently being undertaken. Speak-
ers were chosen to present a global, balanced perspective but by no means a
comprehensive one. Working within the limitations imposed by its time and
resource constraints, the planning committee members chose speakers who
could provide diverse perspectives upon which further discussion could
occur. The agenda for this workshop can be found in Appendix A. The
2 “m” is shorthand for “mobile,” and is often used to define the concept of the application
of mobile technology to a particular field, such as health, finance, etc. Other similar terms such
as “e” for “electronic,” “d” for “digital,” or “open” reflect similar concepts of differentiating
traditional or analog approaches from new and innovative ones (particularly those involving
new technology or communications tools). The use of “m” here reflects a growing notion that
communications is increasingly mobile vs. fixed.
3 Previous workshop summaries include Preventing Violence Against Women and Children
(IOM and NRC, 2011) and Social and Economic Costs of Violence (IOM and NRC, 2012).
Additionally, the National Academy of Engineering sponsored a workshop in 2007, resulting
in the summary Information and Communication Technology and Peacebuilding: Summary of
a Workshop (NRC, 2008) that explored a similar intersection of ICT and conflict resolution.
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3
INTRODUCTION
BOX 1-1
Statement of Task
Over the past 25 years those working in the field of violence prevention
have brought about a major paradigm shift from an assumption that violence is
inevitable to the recognition that violence is preventable, through the application
of evidence-based programs to prevent specific types of violence. As practitioners
gain further insight into successful avenues of research and intervention, the abil-
ity to transport such information to new settings is crucial in advancing the field.
How could traditional tools of dissemination be used more effectively? How could
newer tools such as the Internet and mobile technologies be introduced into this
field? How can we better translate what works in one setting to another using
such tools and media?
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) will convene a 2-day workshop to explore
gaps in the four areas of knowledge management (knowledge generation, integra-
tion, dissemination, and application) and how closing these gaps might accelerate
violence prevention in low- and middle-income countries.
The public workshop will be organized and conducted by an ad hoc commit-
tee to examine (1) the use of traditional and new media to communicate evidence-
based information for violence prevention and (2) new applications of social media
and new communications technologies to prevent violence. It will also highlight
evidence-based best practices from other arenas of global health where use of
such tools show potential for success.
The workshop will include invited presentations and panel discussions. Ex-
perts will be drawn from the public and private sectors as well as from academic
organizations to allow for multi-lateral, evidence-based discussions. An individually
authored summary of the workshop will be prepared by a designated rapporteur,
in accordance with institutional policy and procedures.
speakers’ presentations can also be found on the website for the workshop:
www.iom.edu/mpreventviolence.
ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT
This summary provides an account of the presentations given at the
workshop. Opinions expressed within this summary are not those of the
IOM, the Forum on Global Violence Prevention, or their agents but rather
of the presenters themselves. Such statements are the views of the presenters
and do not reflect conclusions or recommendations of a formally appointed
committee. This summary was authored by designated rapporteurs based
on the workshop presentations and discussions and does not represent the
views of the institution, nor does it constitute a full or exhaustive overview
of the field.
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4 COMMUNICATIONS AND TECHNOLOGY FOR VIOLENCE PREVENTION
The workshop summary is organized thematically, covering the major
topics that arose during the 2-day workshop, so as to present these issues
in a larger context and in a more compelling and comprehensive way. The
thematic organization also allows the summary to serve as an overview of
important issues in the field; however, such an organization results in some
repetition because themes are interrelated and the presented examples sup-
port several different themes and sub-themes as raised by speakers. The
themes presented in this summary were the most frequent, cross-cutting,
and essential elements that arose from the various presentations of the
workshop, but the choice of these themes does not represent the views of
the IOM or a formal consensus process.
The first part of this report consists of an introduction and four chap-
ters which provide a summary of the workshop; the second part consists of
submitted papers and commentary from speakers regarding the substance
of the work they presented at the workshop. These papers were solicited
from speakers in order to offer further information about their work and
this field; not all speakers contributed papers. The appendixes contain ad-
ditional information regarding the agenda and participants.
DEFINITIONS AND CONTEXT
Violence is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “the
intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against
oneself, another person, or against a group or community that either results
in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm,
maldevelopment, or deprivation” (WHO, 2002). WHO further categorizes
violence into seven types: child abuse, elder abuse, sexual violence, intimate
partner violence, youth violence, collective violence, and self-directed vio-
lence. This workshop examined, to various extents, the prevention of all
seven types of violence.
The workshop organizers and participants took a broad definition of
what the field of information and communications technology entails. To
some extent, they included traditional media, including print and television.
For the most part, however, speakers focused on new technologies, such
as new and social media, mapping, large datasets, networks, and others.
They also explored how information messaging and delivery has changed
through new platforms.
The workshop explored the changing paradigm of communications
and how that might be relevant to violence prevention, particularly in
low- and middle-income countries. Speakers described both the current
status of violence prevention and the current applicability of communica-
tions technology to health, and they offered thoughts on the intersection
of all three fields. Several speakers presented examples of their work that
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5
INTRODUCTION
employed innovative uses of ICT. Because this area is a relatively new one
and because technology changes at a rapid pace, many speakers presented
theoretical or preliminary ideas, pointing the way toward how a body of
work might be developed but by no means providing a comprehensive one
at the workshop.
The next four chapters in Part I examine the four major themes that
arose from participants’ presentations and discussions: Transforming Vio-
lence Prevention Through New Communications (Chapter 2), Method-
ological Considerations of New Communications Platforms (Chapter 3),
Addressing Disparities and Vulnerabilities (Chapter 4), and Framing Vio-
lence Prevention Communication (Chapter 5). Part II includes the submit-
ted papers, organized into two chapters: Foundations of mPreventViolence:
Integrating Violence Prevention and Information and Communications Tech-
nologies (Chapter 6) and Practical Applications of mPreventViolence (Chap-
ter 7). These papers provide speakers’ perspectives on the foundation and
future of the integration of violence prevention and ICT.
Finally, the appendixes contain the workshop agenda (Appendix A) and
the speakers’ biographies (Appendix B).
REFERENCES
IOM (Institute of Medicine) and NRC (National Research Council). 2011. Preventing vio-
lence against women and children: Workshop summary. Washington, DC: The National
Academies Press.
IOM and NRC. 2012. Social and economic costs of violence: Workshop summary. Washing-
ton, DC: The National Academies Press.
NRC. 2008. Information and communication technology and peacebuilding: Summary of a
workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.
WHO (World Health Organization). 2002. World report on violence and health. Geneva:
World Health Organization.
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