Violence prevention framework

The Purpose of the Framework

The development of the Framework has been informed by engagement with various partner organisations and existing research and evidence on violence. It also draws on official national statistics on police recorded violent crime, hospital admissions data and the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey findings, which are the main measures by which we gauge levels of violence in Scotland.

As a government we already work – within our devolved competence – across a range of related and complementary areas. For example, we are committed to incorporating the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Children^[13], through implementation of Getting It Right For Every Child.^[14] We also work to support people who self-harm and to prevent suicide; to address misogyny and the inequalities facing women and children; to tackle sectarianism; and to protect our communities and country from terrorism.

This Framework sets out some of the work we are taking forward across government with our partners which
will contribute towards preventing and reducing the harm caused by violence. It also outlines areas for future development and will support a coordinated approach to the proposed activities within the Action Plan, which we will develop and deliver in collaboration with key partners over the coming year and beyond. We will report on the progress of implementation of the Framework's Action Plan on an annual basis.

This Framework is supported by an evidence supplement^[15] and has been informed by a wide range of existing research and evidence related to violence and its prevention – particularly police recorded crime statistics on non-sexual violence, a summary of which is highlighted on the following page. The supplement brings together social research evidence from a range of Scottish Government and other sources, in addition to findings from Official Statistic sources, including the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey. The Framework has also been informed by many practitioners, including academics, and through the voices of people with lived experience of violence.

Implementation of the Framework's Action Plan will require a collaborative approach and will be taken forward by our violence reduction partners including the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit, Medics Against Violence, Education Scotland, YouthLink Scotland and Police Scotland; and by working in collaboration with local authorities and CoSLA, justice, health, education, and community-led third sector organisations, as well as
with local communities.