Saturday 15 May 2010

Victims and Survivors of Armed Violence: Responding to Rights and Needs

This paper reviews key areas of policy and service provision relevant to the rights of victims and survivors of armed violence. It notes the broad humanitarian and development impact of armed violence in both conflict and non-conflict settings, and introduces a rights-based approach to victims and survivors of violence that has been developed over recent decades. It then summarizes key issues in areas of health, justice and social and economic inclusion and considers the implications for national level planning. It concludes with broad recommendations to strengthen international responses to the impact of armed violence. An international response to the problem of armed violence should have as its starting point “the people that are affected by armed violence – both the first-order victims and the wider communities and societies that also suffer consequences.” Data on the impact of armed violence are limited internationally, but recent research suggests that every year, conservatively at least 740,000 people are killed, directly or indirectly, by armed violence. Hundreds of thousands more are injured or suffer psychological trauma; and millions of others live in families and communities that bear the social and economic burden of this violence
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