Call Us
202.684.2553
The Peace Alliance has done extensive research to identify the most current definitions of terms used to describe violence in our global society. You will notice the use of language in this research, such as “Far-Right” terrorism, “Islamic Deviant” and “Black Supremacist”, that are either new to you, or you have heard them used in current political conversations to identify specific partisan groups.
That is not how they are used here.
We use the terms utilized by researchers who gather these data, and provide definitions within our information, to be as clear as current terminology allows.
Each of these sections are but a snapshot of the data. Click Learn More under each header to download a PDF with full statistics and definitions.
In the last five years, far-right terrorism has been on the rise. While other forms of terrorism remain predominant internationally, on the domestic level the surge of far-right political violence represents a worrying trend. Political instability as well as the polarisation of society produced a fertile ground for domestic terrorism in the West. Nevertheless, 96% of deaths from terrorism in 2019 occurred in countries at war, highlighting the strong connection between terrorism and ongoing conflict.
Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) refers to violence perpetrated by a former or current partner or spouse.4 IPV represents a severe public health issue that affects millions of individuals, worldwide as well as in the U. S. IPV can have multiple, serious consequences for its victims, ranging from economic complications as well as physical conditions. It is therefore crucial to prevent it. IPV encompasses acts of stalking, psychological aggression, physical violence or sexual violence—behaviors and tactics through which an intimate partner seeks to establish and maintain power over another.5
Estimates published by the World Health organization indicate that globally about 1 in 3 (30%) of women worldwide have been subjected to either physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime.8
Gun Violence represents a challenge to everyday life in the United States. Between 2008 and 2017, 342,439 people were killed by a gunshot, meaning that 1 person was shot dead every 15 minutes across the U. S.9 Gun violence represents a multifaceted problem requiring a nuanced approach focusing on prevention. Prevention based on research on the development of risks can largely reduce the probability that firearms will be introduced into community and family conflicts or criminal activity.10
As the web is becoming a space where marginalized people can make their voices heard, new challenges for the safety of its users are constantly arising. For women, online violence can manifest in many different ways – harassment, doxing, toxicity, bullying, revenge porn, misinformation and defamation.14 Since the introduction of social media platforms, online violence against women has been on the rise. Online forms of violence often are correlated to offline forms of violence and should, as such, be viewed in continuity with one another.15 Moreover, online violence is not limited in time or space.16
Peacebuilding is a practice aiming at reducing both direct and structural violence through inclusive activities. Although inter-state conflicts are declining in number, countries are experiencing growing societal polarization.20 It is therefore crucial to develop effective peacebuilding strategies and implement programs aimed at reducing conflict among both states and communities.
1 Institute for Economics and Peace, Global Terrorism Index 2020.
2 Jones, S. G., Doxsee, Harrington, N., C., Hwang, G. and Suber, J. “The War Comes Home. The Evolution of Domestic Terrorism in the United States”. CSIS Briefs, October 22 2020. Accessed at: https://www.csis.org/analysis/war-comes-home-evolution-domestic-terrorism-united-states
3 Institute for Economics and Peace, Global Terrorism Index 2020.
4 https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/ipv/intimatepartnerviolence.pdf
5 Breiding MJ et al., Intimate Partner Violence Surveillance: Uniform Definitions and Recommended Data Elements, Atlanta, GA: National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, CDC, 2015, http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/intimatepartnerviolence.pdf.
6 https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/intimatepartnerviolence/fastfact.html
7 https://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/ndv0312.pdf
8 World Health Organization, Key Facts on Violence Against Women. Accessed at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women#:~:text=Estimates%20published%20by%20WHO%20indicate,violence%20is%20intimate%20partner%20violence.
9 https://webappa.cdc.gov/sasweb/ncipc/mortrate.html
10 https://www.apa.org/pubs/info/reports/gun-violence-prevention
11 Karp, Aaron. 2018. “Estimating Global Civilian-Held Firearms Numbers,” p. 4. Small Arms Survey, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies.http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/T-Briefing-Papers/SAS-BP-Civilian-Firearms-Numbers.pdf
12 CDC. 2015. “Vital Statistics in the United States,” 1963-1967. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/vsus.htm; CDC. 2019. “Underlying Cause of Death,” Compressed Mortality File, Mortality for 1968-1978 and Mortality for 1979-1998. https://wonder.cdc.gov/mortsql.html; CDC. 2020. “Underlying Cause of Death, 1999-2019,” Detailed Mortality Tables. Accessed using CDC WONDER Online Database. https://wonder.cdc.gov/ucd-icd10.html; U.S. Department of Defense. 2021. “Conflict Casualties.” Accessed using Defense Casualty Analysis System. https://dcas.dmdc.osd.mil/dcas/pages/casualties.xhtm
13 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics. Underlying Cause of Death 1999-2019 on CDC WONDER Online Database, released in 2020. Data are from the Multiple Cause of Death Files, 1999-2019, as compiled from data provided by the 57 vital statistics jurisdictions through the Vital Statistics Cooperative Program. Accessed at http://wonder.cdc.gov/ucd-icd10.html
14 https://medium.com/jigsaw/the-state-of-online-violence-against-women-4f5e03cc2149
15 https://www.stoponlineviolence.eu/
16 Dalla Pozza, V.; Di Pietro, A.; Morel, S.; Psaila, E. Cyberbullying Among Young People; Directorate General for Internal Policies, Policy Department, Citizens’ Rights and Constitutional Affairs: Brussels, Belgium, 2016.
17 https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2021/01/13/the-state-of-online-harassment/
18 Alavi, Nazanin; Reshetukha, Taras; Prost, Eric; Antoniak, Kristen; Patel, Charmy; Sajid, Saad; Groll, Dianne (2017). “Relationship between Bullying and Suicidal Behaviour in Youth presenting to the Emergency Department”. Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 26 (2): 70–77.
19 https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/24/10609/pdf
20 https://www.un.org/press/en/2016/sgsm18113.doc.htm
21 https://www.generationsforpeace.org/en/the-effects-and-cost-effectiveness-of-peacebuilding/ / https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/28337
23 https://theglobalobservatory.org/2017/07/peacebuilding-expenditure-united-nations-sustaining-peace/
Donate by Check
Some of our generous supporters prefer to mail checks to our office to donate to the work of The Peace Alliance. We are so grateful for all of your support.
If you prefer your donation be tax deductible and you want your donation to focus on the educational side of this work, please make checks payable to The Peace Alliance Educational Institute– the 501(c)(3) arm of The Peace Alliance. We will send you a letter for your taxes.
If you prefer your donation to be unrestricted in how it is applied, be it to educational programs, operational costs, or advocacy work and do not need it to be tax deductible, please make checks payable to The Peace Alliance. Thank you!
Mailing Address:
PO Box 320651
Fairfield, CT 06825