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Timeline of Violence as a Public Health Problem

Year Event
1979 The United States Surgeon General's Report, Healthy People, identifies violence as one of the 15 priority areas for the nation.  The report states that violence can be prevented and should not be ignored in the effort to improve the nation's health.
1980

A landmark Department of Health and Human Services Report – Promoting Health/Preventing Disease: Objectives for the Nation – establishes the first violence prevention objectives for the nation.

1981

CDC epidemiologists begin one of the first collaborative efforts with law enforcement to investigate a series of child murders in Georgia.

1983

CDC establishes the Violence Epidemiology Branch to focus public health efforts on violence prevention.

1985

The Surgeon General's Workshop on Violence and Public Health focuses the attention of the public health world on violence and encourages all health professionals to become involved.

1985

CDC investigates a pattern of suicides in Texas, the first demonstrated use of field epidemiological techniques to identify suicide clusters.

1985

The Report of the Secretary's Task Force on Black and Minority Health is released. The Report underscores the importance of addressing interpersonal violence as a public health problem and identifies homicide as a major contributor to health disparities among African-Americans.

1986

CDC establishes the Division of Injury Epidemiology and Control.

1989

Report of the Secretary's Task Force on Youth Suicide is released.

1990

"Violent and Abusive Behavior" is included as 1 of 22 public health priority areas in Healthy People 2000. It calls for "cooperation and integration across public health, health care, mental health, criminal justice, social service, education, and other relevant sectors."

1990

The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System is established by CDC to monitor priority health risk behaviors among adolescents, including violence-related behaviors that contribute markedly to the leading causes of death and disability in the United States.

1992

CDC receives its first congressional appropriations for youth violence prevention.

1993

A special issue of Health Affairs addresses violence as a public health issue – the first special issue to examine violence as a public health problem.

1993

CDC establishes the Division of Violence Prevention, one of three within the newly created National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. The Division leads CDC's efforts to prevent injuries and deaths caused by violence.

1993

CDC publishes The Prevention of Youth Violence: A Framework for Community Action to mobilize communities to effectively address the epidemic of youth violence sweeping the nation.

1994

CDC and the National Institute of Justice collaborate on the National Violence against Women Survey. The survey, implemented in 1995-1996, provides the first national data on the incidence and prevalence of intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and stalking.

1994

Congress passes the Violence Against Women Act which authorizes coordinated community responses to prevent intimate partner violence and state block grants for rape prevention and education. CDC receives appropriations in 1996 to support both efforts.

1996

The World Health Assembly passes a resolution and declares that "violence is a leading worldwide public health problem."

1999

The U.S. Surgeon General releases the Call to Action to Prevent Suicide  report.

2000

The World Health Organization (WHO) creates the Department of Injuries and Violence Prevention.

2000

CDC receives a congressional appropriation to establish 10 National Academic Centers of Excellence for Youth Violence Prevention.

2001

The U.S. Surgeon General releases a comprehensive report synthesizing the state of knowledge on youth violence and its prevention.

2001

The National Strategy for Suicide Prevention is released by the Department of Health and Human Services.

2001

CDC receives first congressional appropriation for child maltreatment prevention.

2002

CDC and WHO produce the first World Report on Violence and Health – the first comprehensive report on violence as a global public health problem.

2002

CDC establishes Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancements and Leadership Through Alliances (DELTA), a program to focus on primary prevention of intimate partner violence (IPV).

2002

CDC receives appropriation to establish the National Violent Death Reporting System – the first state-based surveillance system to link data from multiple sources with the goal of enhancing violence prevention efforts. By 2004, the system is in 17 states.

2006

CDC launches Choose Respect, the first national communication initiative designed to prevent unhealthy relationship behaviors and dating abuse.

2007

CDC publishes a study that estimated the medical and productivity-related costs of violence in the United States exceed $70 billion each year.

2007

CDC conducts a national survey on violence against children in Swaziland and publishes the findings in The Lancet. Findings become  a catalyst for change that  lead to a global public-private partnership to end violence against children with a focus on sexual violence against girls (Together for Girls).

2009

CDC launches the VetoViolence website – a free, online, interactive, and engaging site with violence prevention tools, trainings, and resources based on the best available evidence and research. One year later, the VetoViolence Facebook page is launched and becomes the fifth largest CDC Facebook page with nearly 17,000 fans.

2011

CDC releases a report on intimate partner violence, sexual violence and stalking in the United States. The report is based on data from a new surveillance system, the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS). NISVS was launched by CDC in 2010 with the support of the National Institute of Justice and the Department of Defense.

2010

CDC's Domestic Violence Prevention Enhancements and Leadership Through Alliances (DELTA) program is reauthorized under the Family Violence and Prevention Services Act. The reauthorizing language formally uses the DELTA name for the first time.

2013

CDC releases Essentials for Childhood – its strategic framework for creating safe, stable, and nurturing relationships and environments for all children. Five states are funded to implement the framework; 24 other states see the short- and long-term benefits of Essentials and begin implementing the framework without CDC funding.

2013

President Obama releases his plan directing CDC and other scientific agencies to conduct research into the causes and prevention of gun violence in Now Is the Time. The plan is in response to the worst school shooting in an elementary or high school in U.S. history. The plan also calls for an expansion of CDC's National Violent Death Reporting System.

2014

CDC receives an appropriation to expand the National Violent Death Reporting System from 18 to 32 states.

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