Title: Violence Info – Homicide
Headings: Homicide
Homicide
Definition
Homicide rate by year
Homicide rate by sex
Homicide rate by age
Homicide rate
Studies of homicide consequences
Studies of homicide risk factors
Examples of strategies and interventions

Content: Demographic structure is a well-established risk factor for homicide. Societies where young people – particularly young males – make up a greater share of the population tend to have higher homicide rates. Transitions in political regimes may also be associated with increased homicide. The fall of Communism in Eastern Europe, apartheid in South Africa, and dictatorship in Brazil all saw rapid increases in homicide rates. Homicide rates may increase in the absence of good governance and effective rule of law. Homicide rates tend to be lower where states have legitimacy in the eyes of citizens, can deliver key political goods such as justice based on the rule of law, and have low levels of corruption. Poverty, economic inequality, ethnic fractionalization, and the availability of guns and alcohol are also risk factors for homicide. Examples of strategies and interventions
This section contains examples of strategies and specific interventions with some evidence for effectiveness. They have been chosen for illustrative purposes, and their inclusion in Violence Info does not mean that WHO endorses them. Firearm Control Act (FCA) South Africa.