Crime, Violence and Injury Research Unit
Research highlights
In SA there is a lack
of reliable national data on the epidemiology of both fatal and non-fatal
injuries. The Crime, Violence and Injury Research Unit has taken up the huge
challenge to establish such a national injury surveillance system in our country.
The surveillance system
on fatalities was introduced into 10 mortuaries in 1999, and into an additional
27 mortuaries in 2000. Extension to other mortuaries is ongoing for as long
as funding is received. About 80 000 post-mortem investigations are conducted
on non-natural deaths in South Africa annually. The 37 mortuaries (in 6 different
provinces) currently contributing their data to the system, represent about
thirty-four percent of all these cases.
Despite this proliferation
of research on injury surveillance and epidemiology, there remains a lack
of systematic investigation into what may constitute best practices to crime,
violence and injury prevention in South Africa. The Crime, Violence and Injury
Research Unit will co-ordinate investigations into a number of interrelated
projects which are all aimed at either identifying, facilitating and/or developing
quality practices that contribute towards the prevention and containment of
crime, violence and injury rapidly, and at low-costs. A number of projects
are highlighted, and include:
- Safe Schools Project
- Neighbourhood-Based
Safety Promotion and Capacitation for Organisational Management in Safety
Promotion
- Pedestrian Visibility
Campaign
- An evaluation of medico-legal
services in Gauteng
- Implementation and
Costing of Violence & Injury Prevention Initiatives, e.g. Home Visitation
Project
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