Exposure to Violence & Crime

Exposure to conflicts and violence can lead to stress and trauma, effecting quality of life. Violence can occur within the home, in the form of domestic violence, or within the community, in schools, or through other institutions. Exposure to violence contributes to poor physical and mental health, and can lead to early mortality or wrongful death. It may also contribute to job loss, housing instability, and poverty. And it can negatively impact academic success and educational opportunity. Other social stressors that contribute to these effects include economic strain and environmental risks. People have a right to protection from chronic exposure to conflict, violence, and other social stressors.

Local Examples of Exposure to Violence and Stressors

North Charleston Chief Reginald Burgess addressed North Charleston Community at a town hall about the increase in gun violence within the community. Local pastor Thomas Dixon proposed several ways to combat the rise in gun violence at the event including improvements in education and prison systems and gun control laws.

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(David McIntyre)

Click the links below to learn more about how this is a harm

Violence

American Psychological Association's "Violence and Socioeconomic Status"

Connects having lower socioeconomic status to being exposed more to violence

National Library of Medicine's "Community Stress, Psychological Hazards, and EPA Decision-Making in Communities Impacted by Chronic Technological Disasters"

Provides case studies that show a relationship between higher stress levels and health problems

City of Oakland's "Oakland Community Stressors Index"

Looks at stress statistics in Oakland and how they can cause negative health effects

Healthy People's "Crime and Violence"

Discusses how exposure to crime and violence not only can cause physical injuries in the moment but mental health problems afterward

Crime

Youth.gov's "Adverse Effects"

Talks about the impact of gangs on communities

Office of Policy Development and Research's "Neighborhoods and Violent Crime"

States that violent crimes hurts the whole community and shows that minority groups are more likely to be exposed to crime

* Drug Enforcement Administration's "National Drug Threat Assessment"

Presents the threat that the U.S. faces do to an array of different drugs being dealt

The United States Department of Justice's "About Violent Gangs"

Defines what makes a group a gang and what they do

ACLU's "School-to-Prison Pipeline"

Looks at the increasing amount of kids that go to jail after leaving school and explains how they are trying to better this