Types of Violence

WHO Global Campaign for Violence Prevention

At the World Health Assembly in Geneva in 1996, violence was declared a leading public health problem worldwide. The World Health Organization defines violence as:

The intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation.[1]

In the 2002 World Report on Violence and Health, the WHO classifies types of violence in an effort to address each separate type. They are:

1. Self-directed

2. Interpersonal

3. Collective

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1. Organization, W.H. (1996). Violence: a public health priority. WHO Global Consultation on Violence and Health, Geneva.

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