Violence and injury observatories: Reducing the burden of injury in high-risk communities

Abstract

Violence has been recognised officially as a global health issue, with the World Health Organization (WHO) reporting that 1.6 million people die annually from violence. South Africa’s injury burden is very high, particularly for homicide, which is six times the global average. The idea of an ‘observatory’ has expanded recently, from its origins in astronomy to that of specialised informational repositories and knowledge-building centres, housing cross-referenced databases with advanced analytic and research capacities. This review essay provides information regarding the conceptual framework, historical background and various components of the violence observatory model, as well as evidence of effect. The intention is to provide information to stakeholders within the safety and security cluster by increasing awareness of the observatory models’ application in high violence and injury settings such as South Africa.