Citation

Metzler M, Jackson T, Trudeau A. Am. J. Public Health 2021; 111(Suppl 1): S35-S37.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, American Public Health Association)

DOI

10.2105/AJPH.2021.306309

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The care and protection of children and youths is widely understood to be the responsibility of adults, communities, and society. The importance of safe, stable, nurturing relationships and environments to support children as they grow into healthy adults enjoying meaningful lives has been well documented.1 Yet, this is not the world that exists for all children, especially those at increased risk of experiencing violence.2 Why is this? If children deserve better, why do inequities in risk for violence persist? What accounts for the limited progress on their behalf?3

Story telling is a strategy used in public health to communicate about the lives of people and communities. The term "narrative" is often used interchangeably with "storytelling," but although these terms are related, "narrative" refers more precisely to connected stories that are articulated and refined over time to advance a central idea or belief. Public narratives are meta-stories that provide an understanding or interpretation of people and situations; dominant public narratives are those that eclipse others and have the most power to shape public consciousness, including society's collective senses of both responsibility and possibility.4 Words matter, but narrative is about more than words. Narrative is about the ideas that get communicated through language, images, culture, and media. Understanding how narratives operate is critical to violence prevention efforts...

Language: en