2009 Theme Issue on Violence and Human Rights—Call for Papers
- Thomas B. Cole, MD, MPH;
- Annette Flanagin, RN, MA
- KEYWORDS:
- HUMAN RIGHTS
- VIOLENCE
JAMA will publish its annual theme issue on violence and human rights on August 5, 2009. We encourage authors to submit manuscripts reporting the results of original research on the causes, consequences, and prevention of violence and human rights abuses. All topics related to violence and human rights are of interest, but this year we specifically invite manuscripts on the health effects of violence at home, defining “home” as one's home country or family home.
Currently, all or nearly all armed conflicts are fought on home soil, meaning that armed conflicts are being fought within nations, not between them.1 Intrastate conflicts may be fought by government forces against opposing forces (state conflicts) or may be fought between militias, warlords, and ethnic or religious groups (non–state conflicts). Non–state conflicts are typically fought in poor nations with weak governments, because poor countries often lack the resources to address grievances that lead to armed conflict, and as a result, war creates and exacerbates poverty. We invite papers on the health consequences of intrastate conflicts for combatants and civilians.
Terrorism, defined as intentional, politically motivated violence perpetrated by nonstate groups against civilians,2 may also occur across or within state boundaries. It can be difficult to distinguish homegrown terrorism, sectarian violence, and apolitical crime from terrorism perpetrated or influenced by foreign-born terrorists. Moreover, these distinctions may be irrelevant to the individuals who are killed, injured, impoverished, or terrorized. Experts disagree whether transnational terrorism is declining, but homegrown terrorism, even in the absence of rational political objectives, may threaten even stable, affluent democracies.3,4,5,6 A form of terror can also be experienced within homes and families. For example, intimate partner violence, often used or threatened by a partner to terrorize another, is apparently ubiquitous.7 We invite manuscripts on the health consequences of terrorism, whether perpetrated for political reasons or to control an intimate partner or other family member.
Authors may submit manuscripts on violence and human rights abuses at the level of the state, the community, or the family home, but we will also consider manuscripts on any topic related to violence or human rights. We are particularly interested in randomized controlled trials8 of interventions and strategies to prevent and manage the causes and consequences of violence and human rights abuses, but we will also consider observational studies, systematic reviews, and scholarly commentaries. Manuscripts received by March 1, 2009, will have the best chance of consideration for publication in this theme issue. All manuscripts will undergo JAMA's usual rigorous editorial evaluation and peer review. Please follow JAMA's instructions for authors for manuscript preparation and submission.9
Financial Disclosures: None reported.
Editorials represent the opinions of the authors and JAMA and not those of the American Medical Association.
