How the federal government can address violence and harm through a public health approach

All people deserve safety in their homes, workplaces, parks, and other community spaces—safety not only from violence, but from the economic, social, and environmental conditions that fuel violence in the first place. Within the United States, however, access to physical safety—just like access to clean air, economic mobility, and high-quality schools—is shaped by where someone lives, with many of our most unsafe places reflecting decades of systemic disinvestment. 

To keep individuals, families, and communities truly safe from violence and harm,1 policymakers must tackle the “social determinants of safety” that contribute to neighborhood violence...