Safety and Peace Promotion Research Unit

Director: Prof Mohamed Seedat
E-mail: seedama@unisa.ac.za

The SAPPRU, formerly known as the Crime, Violence and Injury Lead Programme (CVI), was formalised in 2001 as a partnership between UNISA and the Medical Research Council (MRC). The CVI incorporated the MRC’s former Trauma Unit’s surveillance and epidemiological research activities and the Institute’s community-focused prevention and critical theoretical work. Whereas the CVI emphasised surveillance and the epidemiology of violence and injuries in its first cycle (2001-2005), during its second cycle (2006-2010) it turned its gaze towards the study of risks and determinants of crime, violence and injuries. During the third cycle (2011-2015) the SAPPRU will commit significant intellectual energies towards data driven prevention initiatives and transferable solutions for priority injury and violence issues, including safety and peace promotion.

Accordingly, the third cycle will see a continuation of current public health critically-oriented research, the introduction of trans-disciplinary safety and peace promotion research, and a name change indicative of a paradigm shift.

SAPPRU objectives
The objectives of SAPPRU are to:

• Conduct trans-disciplinary research to champion peace and safety promotion, as well as violence and injury prevention;
• Develop appropriate tools to assess the magnitude, trends and occurrence of crime, injuries and violence, and conditions promotive of safety and peace;
• Study the risks, causes and determinants of crime, violence and injuries, and factors supportive of safety and peace;
• Identify, support and develop primary prevention, injury control, and safety and peace promotion demonstration initiatives;
• Encourage research translation to inform the prevention and promotive work of governments and social movements; and
• Build primary prevention, and safety and peace promotion research and intervention expertise among researchers, policy-drivers, community-based workers and practitioners