Understanding and tackling violence that occurs outside of armed conflict settings is essential to improving the wellbeing of some of the world’s poorest communities. Whilst advances have been made in terms of designing policies that address violence in fragile or conflict-affected countries, progress has been slower in relation to dealing with violence happening outside of these settings. New forms of violence, such as organised crime and political instability, often arise in states which have undergone rapid economic growth and social transformation. These forms of violence are difficult to address because they are part of the very structures and processes that drive and shape development. Current responses have often been unsuccessful. Fresh approaches are required. They need to be driven by communities, civil society and young people, as well as the state and international donors. They must also be underpinned by a better understanding of how violence affects the poor and what works in terms of interventions.
- An estimated 740,000 people die every year as a result of armed violence, but more than half of these deaths occur in countries that are not affected by armed conflict.
- The 2011 World Development Report (WDR) reports that for every three years a country is affected by major violence, poverty reduction lags behind by 2.7 percentage points.
- Violence and organised crime are difficult to address because they are embedded in political, governance, and economic structures.
- Non-state actors can provide access to basic services and security which the state is unable to provide, but these non-state actors may at the same time be involved in organised crime or other forms of violence.
- In Nairobi, the community group Ghetto Green has sought to provide income opportunities for young people involved in crime. This offers an alternative to the violent groups that have gained influence because of the state’s inability to provide basic services.
- Efforts to combine development and security in Sierra Leone have prevented a relapse into widespread conflict. However, this ‘security first’ approach has come at the expense of wider economic changes which would address the grievances that led to the country’s civil war. Local attempts to link development with security have so far been largely disconnected from larger peacebuilding operations.
- This briefing recommends: strengthening the evidence base on the intersection of violence and development; learning from a broad range of successful and failed experiences; building the competencies of civil society, communities and social organisations, as well as the state; focussing on young people rather than existing elites.