Salzburg Global Fellow Michal Gilad suggests a multidisciplinary, evidence-based approach for a systemic reform of youth justice systems
This article was written by Salzburg Global Fellow Michal Gilad, who participated in the Global Innovations on Youth Violence, Safety and Justice initiative.
Violence is the intentional use of force aimed at harming another. It is not an innate human instinct of survival or self-defense, but rather a learned behavior. Exposure to violence, whether direct or indirect, is a precursor for an individual, often a child, to learn and internalize violent behavior.
Moreover, studies show that direct and indirect exposure to violence as well as involvement with the criminal legal system are associated with further increase in the likelihood of engaging in violent behavior. Thus, unless this cycle is effectively disrupted, violence breeds more violence.
A research agenda should build upon this conception to develop evidence-based strategies to break the cycle of violence and yield favorable outcomes for individuals, communities, and society.
Understanding the Status-Quo
A pre-requisite to designing an effective policy reform is a comprehensive understanding of the status-quo. What is the problem and its outcomes? How is it currently addressed? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the current system? What are the policy gaps? Where is the current system failing?
Past research provides only partial and disjointed snapshots which fail to accurately gauge the true scope, extent, magnitude, and effect of the problem across space and time. The siloed approach of traditional research is incompatible with the multidisciplinary nature of youth violence, which crosses all thematic, disciplinary, and sectorial boundaries. Similarly, due to disciplinary divides, access barriers, and lack of lingua franca, existing research findings are often not effectively utilized and remain buried within their discipline’s literature.
Future research must break traditional boundaries and integrate knowledge across all relevant disciplines, including neurodevelopment, epidemiology, medicine, psychology, sociology, economics, law, and education, among others. To maximize the utility of existing research, meticulous multidisciplinary review and meta-analysis should be conducted to identify and analyze relevant findings.
We should study and accurately chart a matrix of the full range of risk factors, root causes, and outcomes that drive and sustain youth violence across all life-facets and systems, as well as the complex nexus between these components. All points-of-contact with the state and other organizational entities should be mapped, and the directionality of their effect on these pathways, outcomes, and degree of harm evaluated. Researchers can then identify with greater precision strategic points where such pathways can be severed or blocked to disrupt the cycle of violence and maximize the impact of prospective interventions.
Additionally, multidisciplinary mixed-methods research designs can be used to evaluate, assess, and quantify the short- and long-term outcomes and costs, across all sectors and systems, of preserving the status-quo and upholding the traditional punitive approaches of most jurisdictions. Such research-based evidence can help gauge the true magnitude of the problem and its impact on our society, which is currently obstructed by the inherent limitations of narrowly constructed single-discipline studies. These results can later be compared against the predictive costs and outcomes of proposed interventions that aim to disrupt the cycle of violence, to demonstrate the concrete potential for harm reduction and long-term savings in public resources.
Pursuing a research agenda that generates an instrumental and constructive understanding of the status-quo will necessitate putting in place effective infrastructures and incentives to enable, promote, and facilitate diverse groups of researchers to work together collaboratively, share, and synthesize knowledge to mirror the inherent multidisciplinarity of youth violence. This will allow to best leverage existing and future research findings, optimize their utility and real-world impact, and inform the development of policies to effectively address the problem.
The Critical Components of a “Whole Systems” Approach
Salzburg Global Fellows illuminated the critical need for a “whole systems” approach to youth violence, which mirrors the phenomenon’s complexity and impacts across all sectors and life-facets. Future research can help refine the idea and answer critical questions to inform the development of a viable inter-sectorial response.
What barriers are there to inter-agency collaboration? Do these barriers differ across regions and jurisdictions? How can such barriers be removed? What measures must be taken to enable knowledge-sharing across sectors, agencies, and systems? How can we balance instrumental knowledge-sharing and harmful breaches of privacy? How can we create a multidisciplinary lingua franca for fluid communication between stakeholders?
These research questions can be pursued by surveying, comparing, contrasting, and analyzing the working practices, methods of operation, culture, and policies of the agencies and organizations relevant to the youth violence response. Furthermore, studying the operation, strengths, and weaknesses of cross-sectorial and cross-agency policy initiatives in adjacent fields will generate valuable knowledge that, with necessary adjustments, can inform the design of a “whole systems” approach to youth violence.
Identifying Barriers to Reform
Various entities have pursued advocacy efforts to advance and implement non-punitive alternatives to address youth violence with positive outcomes. Yet, “the system” remains resistant to change. Future research should investigate these systemic barriers to change and potential strategies to overcome them.
Research studies can identify the major concerns and conceptions (or misconceptions) held by policymakers and the public with regard to proposed policy reforms, and then test their validity and accuracy. Can we provide research-based evidence to alleviate some of these concerns or correct misconceptions? What gaps in knowledge must be filled to support a convincing argument that advances reform? How can we communicate the evidence-supported advantages of proposed reforms in an accessible, appealing, and convincing manner to relevant stakeholders?
Such knowledge is of particular value in the current climate, where the alleged rise in violence is perceived to be associated with progressive criminal justice reforms. Future research should study these trends, underlying sources, and practical implications.
Pursuing these questions and analyzing findings can enable researchers to identify misinformation, devise strategies to address misconstrued barriers, enhance the feasibility of evidence-based reform proposals, and generate practical real-world impact.
Since 2021, Fellows participating in the Global Innovations on Youth Violence, Safety and Justice initiative have contributed to the Global Innovations on Youth Violence, Safety and Justice Report. Each section highlights the key challenges and opportunities identified by the initiative’s international participants, with illustrative case studies, recommendations for consideration and action, and suggestions of where the research agenda should focus in future. This report is continuously updated to reflect new findings, case studies, and resources.
Explore the full digital report here.
Learn more about the Global Innovations on Youth Violence, Safety and Justice initiative.
Salzburg Global is grateful to the MacArthur Foundation and the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation for their generous support and partnership that made this program possible.
