López presents at International Criminal Court Office of the Proscecutor

Written by Adriana Aramburu, manager, Center for Human Rights, Gender and Migration Julia López, PhD, WashU assistant professor of medicine, public health faculty scholar and core faculty of the Center for Human Rights, Gender and Migration, recently traveled to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague to present on impacts and strategies related to […]

Professional helpers can experience vicarious trauma

The expectation that we can be immersed in suffering and loss daily and not be touched by it is as unrealistic as expecting to be able to walk through water without getting wet. Naomi Rachel Remen, MD The case management team from the Institute’s Life Outside of Violence (LOV) program recently presented, “This is About […]

Center launches gender-based violence disclosure toolkit in Mexico

Written by Kim Furlow, Institute for Public Health & Julia Uyttewaal, manager of the Center for Human Rights, Gender & Migration This summer, the Center for Human Rights, Gender and Migration officially launched its revised toolkit for service providers and humanitarian workers in Mexico. The toolkit offers guidance on how to approach the thorny issue […]

Help for Victims of Gun Violence

A new service developed through the Institute’s collaboration with the St. Louis Violence Prevention Commission and the United Way, is helping survivors of gun violence get directed to the resources they need. The new service helps find resources such as mental health counseling, employment, home repair or housing for victims of gun violence. Survivors of […]

Washington University researchers collaborate with Mexican asylum authorities to support survivors of gender-based violence applying for refugee protection

For decades, Mexico has been a country of transit for migrants and refugees seeking safety and opportunity in the United States. As the U.S. closes its southern border and crises in Central America continue unabated, however, more and more people are leaving home and staying in Mexico. And many of them are asking Mexico for […]

Gun Violence Initiative celebrates five year anniversary

The Gun Violence Initiative at the Institute for Public Health was launched in spring 2015 to tackle one of our greatest public health challenges: death and injury as a result of gun violence. During the past five years, the Initiative has worked with national, academic and community stakeholders to develop key partnerships and interventions such […]

New report released on intimate partner violence and refugee protection in the Americas

Written by Kim Furlow, communications manager and Julia Uyttewaal, manager of the Center for Human Rights, Gender & Migration at the Institute for Public Health Intimate partner violence is a serious global issue. The United Nations Office for Drugs and Crime recently reported that 50,000 women were killed by an intimate partner in 2017. This […]

Faculty Scholar SPOTLIGHT! Kristen Mueller, MD

Dr. Mueller is assistant professor of Emergency Medicine at the School of Medicine and a faculty scholar at the Institute for Public Health. Kristen Mueller says the Gun Violence Initiative (GVI) and its programs have changed her life. She is now one of only a handful of emergency medicine physicians who not only treats patients […]

Sometimes, we need more conveners: A community partner profile

Written by Kim Furlow, communications manager for the Institute for Public Health Think of her as the ultimate “convener” — bringing large numbers of people together to problem-solve issues that try to tear communities apart. Issues like violence. A former community organizer specializing in “collective impact”, Serena Muhammad, director of strategic initiatives for MHB (formerly […]

How funding & collaboration can address violence: Lessons from the past

According to a 2017 U.S. Department of Justice report, the City of St. Louis experienced a notable decrease in homicides in the year 2003 but the rate has subsequently rebounded. As we continue to see violence in our city and search for what works to prevent it, can we learn from the past? A community-academic […]

Child abuse (Links to an external site)

What should you do to try to better recognize signs of abuse in your neighborhood? The bottom line: If you think a child is in danger or is being hurt, call a hotline, says a child abuse expert at Washington University in St. Louis. Read the full article…

Joining forces to stop cycle of violence in St. Louis (Links to an external site)

The Institute for Public Health at Washington University in St. Louis will launch the regional St. Louis Area Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program (STL-HVIP), which will aim to promote positive alternatives to violence, thanks to a $1.6 million grant from Missouri Foundation for Health.

Youth and gun violence: NOW is the time for action

Saint Louis Story Stitchers youth hosted a second video-taped discussion on November 10th at Kranzberg Arts Center’s Black Box Theater to reopen topics explored in last year’s discussion. Stitchers Teen Council Co-Chairs Aniya and Toryon, both seniors in high school, led guest high school youth from University City High School, McCluer High School, Central Visual […]

Data visualization skill lab

The university offered a class this fall that combined data visualization with real-world crime data. This class was the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Art’s course “Capstone in Design 1: Form and Function.” It included a Data Visualization Skill Lab in which students formed interdisciplinary teams to explore crime data from St. Louis City. […]

Assistance requested from local service providers

The St. Louis Area Violence Prevention Collaborative has been working to advance the goal of identifying, mapping and coordinating resources in our region as they relate to critical services and programs that support the reduction of gun violence. These include, but are not limited to, behavioral and mental health, social, afterschool recreational, education, employment, housing, […]

Public health challenge: Reducing gun violence in St. Louis

Washington University’s Institute for Public Health and Skandalaris Center for Interdisciplinary Innovation and Entrepreneurship partnered to host a three-day immersive public health challenge. Held September 16-19, 2016, multidisciplinary teams of students developed social and entrepreneurial concepts to reduce gun violence in St. Louis. More than a dozen students participated in the event which included an ideation session […]

Medical students learn public health impact of gun violence in new course

This fall, the Washington University School of Medicine is offering a class titled ‘Gun Violence as a Public Health Issue’ for the first time. Various medical school faculty, faculty from other schools at Washington University and Saint Louis University, and experts from local community organizations working on issues related to gun violence are teaching the […]

Supporting violence prevention research

The Institute for Public Health will award $15,000 to Patricia Cavazos-Rehg, PhD, in Washington University’s Department of Psychiatry, to support her project “Examination of the role of social media on substance use and violence behaviors.” Dr. Cavazos-Rehg will work with colleagues Laura Jean Bierut, MD of the School of Medicine and Edward Spitznagel, PhD, in […]

Joining forces with United Way on gun violence prevention

Washington University in St. Louis and the United Way of Greater St. Louis have formed a joint partnership that aims to provide support and resources to local initiatives that are uniting in their efforts to combat gun violence in the region. The St. Louis Area Violence Prevention Collaborative will work to reduce violent crime in […]

Not Another One

Last month the Saint Louis Story Stitchers convened a group in the Guns in the Hands of Artists exhibit at the Des Lee Gallery, to videotape a frank conversation about gun violence with St. Louis teens and community leaders. The resulting video, embedded below, is titled “Not another one!” Participants include Jason Purnell, assistant professor […]

Gun violence prevention symposium summary and videos

The Brown School organized a symposium on November 12, 2015 called Preventing Gun Violence: Evidence-based Optimism in a Realistic World as part of the university’s Gun Violence: A Public Health Crisis initiative. University of Chicago professor and co-director of the university’s crime lab, Harold Pollack, PhD, provided the keynote address, which was followed by a facilitated discussion […]

St. Louis International Film Festival includes a number of films exploring gun violence

The 24th Annual Whitaker St. Louis International Film Festival runs November 5 to 15th. This year a number of the films being screened contain themes that relate to gun violence, offering diverse perspectives on this complicated issue. The relevant showings include: Nov. 6: 3 1/2 Minutes, 10 BulletsNov. 7: Daisy and MaxNov. 8: The Armor of […]

St. Louis gun violence and the real Ferguson effect

By the standards of St. Louis in 2015, the last weekend of September was an island of calm. Readers of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on the Monday after learned that a 20-year-old woman, shot in the hip while driving down Interstate 70 early Sunday morning, would quickly recover. A fatal shooting at Carondelet Park on […]

Documentary features Congolese hospital successes

Written by April Houston, MSW/MPH, graduate student at Washington University in St. Louis The women of Congo have had it rough. Their country has been at war for decades, many of them have seen their families and even their bodies badly damaged and torn apart. There’s no shortage of sad stories coming out of the […]