2022 Cure Violence Global:
The Year in Data

At Cure Violence Global, data is in our DNA. 

Cure Violence sites are trained in data collection, and every day staff across the world collect a wide array of information and enter it into CVG’s violence prevention program database. This database houses the largest dataset on community-based violence prevention activity in the world. The database captures information on the program activities and indicators of behavior and norm change that occur in communities where the Cure Violence approach is being implemented.  

The database allows sites to understand what is and is not happening on the ground so that adjustments can be made to the program in real time. Access to granular, real-time data to inform program activities is a key advantage to using the Cure Violence approach, and an effective tool for advocating for marginalized populations and communities.  The database also allows CVG to regularly share critical information about how Cure Violence sites are performing with our stakeholders and supporters, a standard of practice that the organization has adopted to ensure timely communication on key violence prevention measures.

Here are a few highlights across CVG sites in 2022. Take a closer look at the data by downloading our 2022 Data Summary.

Case Study: Implementing in St. Louis

The federal government and others are investing hundreds of millions of dollars in violence prevention, creating a tremendous demand from communities to understand the process for implementing approaches effectively.  A new case study from Results for America lays out the key elements of the process of implementing the Cure Violence approach as it occurred in the City of St. Louis, Missouri, offering a valuable resource for cities and communities across the U.S. who are grappling with violence.

The study delves into the implementation timeline, funding sources, refinements to the approach, key stakeholders involved, as well as major obstacles and problems encountered and how they were addressed.  The researchers found that keys to success included: ensuring staff are well-compensated, receiving training and support from national leaders, and maintaining community and political support.

The report also found that killings were reduced in the target area by 43% and more than 600 conflicts were interrupted before they became violent.

Results for America is focused on helping decision-makers at all levels of government to invest in approaches that work. This case study is an excellent example of the valuable resources they provide.

Click here to read the full case study. 

New Research: The Cure Violence Model
Facilitates Employment and Education
Support for Marginalized Populations
in Trinidad & Tobago

There is so much more to the Cure Violence approach than just reducing violence.  Behind the scenes at Cure Violence sites across the world, outreach workers and interrupters are helping people access jobs, education, and basic necessities. These efforts provide support and assistance to those at highest risk and are an essential part of the Cure Violence approach.

A new 2023 study of implementation of the Cure Violence approach in Trinidad and Tobago conducted by researchers at Arizona State University highlights this support. The study conducted 36 in-depth semi-structured interviews and two focus groups with program staff, residents, family members of victims, and police. It found that violence prevention workers implementing the Cure Violence approach successfully connected individuals at highest risk to education, employment, and critical basic necessities such as food and schoolbooks for children.

The study found that 66% of respondents discussed educational support and 68% mentioned employment support given by the program. One program staff explained, “I help unemployed youth find jobs; work to get youth who dropped out from school re-enrolled … Many people are in need, so I take money out of my own pocket to carry people to work or to help them find a job.”

Cure Violence Global began working with partners in Trinidad and Tobago in 2015, and Project REASON began implementation in its capital, Port of Spain, later that year. A 2018 mixed-methods evaluation of the Cure Violence initiative by Arizona State University showed a 38.7% reduction in shootings in the program site from July 2015 to August 2017.

Trinidad and Tobago has experienced persistently high levels of violence, particularly in the capital city of Port of Spain, for many years. The success of the Cure Violence approach in Port of Spain demonstrates that an evidence-based health approach can play a key role in helping to improve community safety.

CVG Podcast: Interview with Aric John, M.S.W., Coordinator of
National Strategic Partnerships

There are a lot of things you could do with your experience and your social work degree. Why Cure Violence Global? 

“Cure Violence Global is life changing. Now, I have the privilege and the honor to be able to be a part of an organization that is global… And to add what I already bring to the table to that; it makes it even more powerful for me. It has been a blessing.”

Is there a reason you made that switch to work in violence prevention?

“Yes, because the people most impacted by violence look like me. They’re black and brown, but the people working with them a lot of times aren’t.”

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To hear more of the interview with Aric Johnson, including finding out why he says that he is “kind of like a unicorn,” listen online to the full interview.

Cure Violence Global in the
Middle East and North Africa

Last year was the deadliest year in the West Bank in nearly two decades, and experts expect this trend to continue in the year ahead.  Living within conflict zones is a highly traumatic experience, and this trauma has profound and lasting effects on people and entire communities. Multiple studies demonstrate that increases in community, school, and family violence occur in conflict situations, and specifically in the context of the West Bank. Studies also show that the greater the exposure, the greater the risk of violence and aggressive behavior.

Cure Violence Global (CVG) is committed to limiting the spread of violence in the West Bank. In 2020-2021, CVG trained 20 women community activists from East Jerusalem, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron, and Nablus to use their influence in the community and among their networks to limit the spread of violence using the public health framework. Participants reported that they feel more confident to intervene to stop violence incidents in their communities.

In 2016-2017, Cure Violence partnered with the Salam Institute to create a network of 23 trainers and violence interrupters from the cities of Hebron, Bethlehem, Nablus, Tulkarem, Qalqiliya, Jenin, Ramallah, and Jerusalem.  The Jerusalem team interrupted 15 potentially violent events and referred 32 people to vocational training or other services over the summer of 2017.  The Hebron team interrupted 30 incidents of violence over a 2-week period in July 2017, benefiting 76 individuals.  During another intervention, the Hebron team reports interrupting 60 cases of violence. 

Read more about these projects, as well as the status of our project with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) Somalia to address violence between Al-Shabaab defectors and community members – in the recent CVG-MENA blog post.

Cure Violence Global in the Media

Violence has been an incessant drumbeat in the headlines this year already with persistent violence in US cities and numerous high-profile mass shootings. Reporters looking for solutions to this crisis often cite evidence-based interventions such as the Cure Violence approach. 

The New York Times referenced the Cure Violence approach twice in the last month. In laying out “A Smarter Way to Reduce Gun Deaths,” Nicolas Kristoff said, “Violence interrupters working for initiatives like Cure Violence can sometimes break cycles of revenge shootings.” Another New York Times newsletter article examined several “alternatives to police” and asked the question “Can they work?”  Cure Violence can answer that question in the affirmative with dozens of studies that show that the approach results in consistent reductions in violence and provides mentoring and access to critical resources for people involved in its programs.

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