Since 2015 the Violence Prevention Forum has encouraged and enabled collaboration between policymakers, researchers, community-based organisations, development partners, international organisations and, more recently, the private sector. Since 2018 participation in the Forum has expanded to include more representatives from private sector and donor agencies. Good relationships across all sectors that have a role to play in preventing violence are key to addressing the challenge of violence and its prevention.
The forum works to ensure that effective programmes and interventions on preventing violence are both available and sustainable across the country in the communities where they are needed.
The VPF is convened by the Institute for Security Studies, and led by a multi-sectoral
Driver Group.
The VPF meets twice a year, with many opportunities offered for ongoing engagement between these meetings.
The meeting process is interrogative and deliberative. Participants are given ample time for reflection and sense-making. Meetings are facilitated by skilled, experienced facilitators who draw on a range of methods and approaches.
The forum is value driven. Because participants know what to expect from others, and trust that if the values are violated there will be recourse, they can have difficult conversations with one another, raising uncomfortable truths and dialogue in ways that are respectful.
The Violence Prevention Forum’s
Theory of Change identifies the three ways in which the forum works toward its ultimate goal – relationship building, evidence, and strengthening the workforce.