Violence in a Post-Conflict Context: Urban Poor Perceptions from Guatemala

Caroline Moser and Cathy McIlwaine

No 13992 in World Bank Publications - Books from The World Bank Group

Abstract: The study documents how people living in poor urban communities in Guatemala perceive violence. Specifically, it identifies the categories of violence affecting poor communities, the costs of different types of violence, the effects on violence on social capital, the interventions employed by people to deal with violence, and the causes and effects of social exclusion. The study develops a violence-capital-exclusion nexus which is an analytical framework linking different types of violence both to society's capital and to the exclusion of its poor population. To incorporate the rarely heard voices of the poor, the study uses participatory urban appraisal methodology, which emphasizes local knowledge and enables local people to analyze the problems they face and identify their own solutions. Local-level recommendations for reducing violence can be summed up in terms of six priorities: Rebuild trust in the police and judicial system. Attack the problem of alcoholism. Reduce society's tolerance for intrafamily violence. Prevent the spread of drug consumption. Transform maras (violent youth gangs) from perverse to productive social organizations. Develop mechanisms to build sustainable community-based membership organizations.

Keywords: Health Monitoring and Evaluation Conflict and Development-Post Conflict Reconstruction Health; Nutrition and Population-Adolescent Health Governance-Youth and Governance Social Development-Children and Youth (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2001
ISBN: 0-8213-4836-1
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wbk:wbpubs:13992

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