Abstract

Violence continues to grow as a priority for public health practitioners, particularly as its causes and consequences become better understood and the potential roles for public health are better articulated. This article provides the context to “Violence: a glossary (part 1)” published in the last issue of this journal, and updates some of the data, concepts and population approaches presented in the 2002 World report on violence and health. The paper addresses the following questions: What is the magnitude and global burden of injury from violence? What causes violence? Is resilience important? What is the role for public health? What are the key challenges and opportunities? We aim to engage the general reader and to increase understanding of violence as a potentially preventable issue.