Interpersonal violence in the Caribbean: Etiology, prevalence, and impact.

Abstract

The Latin American and Caribbean region is considered one of the most violent areas in the world (Small Arms Survey, 2012). In 2005, the Caribbean had the highest, and Latin America the fifth highest, murder rate out of 15 regions in the world (United Nations Office on Drug and Crime [UNODC] & Latin America and the Caribbean Region of the World Bank [LAC World Bank], 2007). Unlike Latin America, in the Caribbean, most of the violence is social (Geneva Declaration Secretariat, 2011). Needless to say, government agencies, social scientists, and policymakers within the Caribbean are quite concerned with the high levels of interpersonal violence and its impact on families and children and on society as a whole (Harriott, 2008a).