Cross sectional survey of perpetrators, victims, and witnesses of violence in Bogota, Colombia

Abstract

Objectives: To establish the prevalence and distribution of witnesses, victims, and perpetrators of different types of violence in the general population and the proportion of victims consulting health services or reporting the incident to authorities. Methods: Cross sectional survey of a random sample of 3007 inhabitants between the ages of 15 and 60 in the city of Bogotá, Colombia, in 1997, based on a face to face interview. Results: Age adjusted past year prevalence of witnesses, victims, and perpetrators of physical aggression was 61%, 27%, and 27%, respectively, while lifetime prevalence of witnesses, victims, and perpetrators of assault with a weapon in this population reached 70%, 55%, and 5.8%. Between 11% and 67% of the victims consulted a health service and less than 32% reported the incident to an authority. Those involved in most types of physical violence tended to be young, male, from lower middle social classes, with some degree of secondary education, and single or divorced. Conclusions: Prevalence of witnesses and victims of violence in this sample appears to be high, while perpetrators constitute a small proportion. Violence is not equally distributed throughout the population suggesting the possibility of identifying a population at higher risk for the development of intervention programmes.

Treinta años de homicidios en Medellín, Colombia, 1979-2008

“…Algunos autores han propuesto que factores como la agresividad, la intolerancia y la forma inapropiada de resolución de conflictos son la causa de al menos 8 de cada 10 homicidios en Colombia 20,21 . Otros han planteado que el homicidio, además de presentar importantes aumentos, también se ha diversificado y extendido hasta las zonas urbanas.…”

Youth at Risk in Latin America and the Caribbean: Understanding the Causes, Realizing the Potential

“…Although the Brazilian sample drew only from poor neighborhoods, the poorest of the sample were those who were more likely to engage in violent behavior (World Bank 2007b). Similarly, young people from poorer families in Colombia are more likely to be violent (Duque, Klevens, and Ramirez 2003). Also, juvenile crime has been correlated with local unemployment and poverty in the United States (Grogger 1998;Mocan and Rees 1999).…”

Violent delinquency in a Brazilian birth cohort: the roles of breast feeding, early poverty and demographic factors

“…According to these studies, approximately 35% of children with a history of antisocial behaviour become adult delinquents, and about 5% of these are responsible for approximately 50% of crimes considered as the most severe by society, including robbery, armed assault and rape 6 . Even though these individuals represent only a small fraction of the population, the consequences of their acts are not small, as attested by the physical and emotional sequelae commonly found among their victims 7,8 …”