Global Burden of Armed Violence - The Geneva Declaration on ...

68 Defining and measuring
violent deaths
GLOBAL BURDEN <strong>of</strong> ARMED VIOLENCE
Photo " Supporters <strong>of</strong>
the opposition armed
with machetes, clubs,
and axes run from tear-
gas and bullets in Kibera
slum, Nairobi, Kenya.
© Jon Hrusa/EPA
‘Homicide’ is a legal label used to gather informa-
tion about a specific way in which people die. Most
generally, homicide can be defined as unlawful
death inflicted on a person by another person.
Such a broad definition encompasses a wide
range <strong>of</strong> acts that may result in death and a whole
spectrum <strong>of</strong> states <strong>of</strong> mind <strong>of</strong> the perpetrator.
<strong>The</strong> focus <strong>of</strong> this chapter is intentional homicide,
or murder. Intentional homicide requires that the
perpetrator purposefully intends to cause the
death or serious injury <strong>of</strong> a victim. Situations
where the perpetrator is reckless or grossly negli-
gent, or where the perpetrator kills in self-defence,
are therefore usually excluded from the category
<strong>of</strong> intentional homicide. <strong>The</strong> fact that a person is
intentionally killed by another does not neces-
sarily mean that the act is a homicide in law. <strong>The</strong>
killing <strong>of</strong> a person by a police <strong>of</strong>ficer acting legiti-
mately in the line <strong>of</strong> duty is an obvious exclusion,
as is the killing <strong>of</strong> an enemy combatant during a
war or armed conflict.
Despite varying definitions, ‘homicide’ is the most
widely collected data source on non-conflict-
related armed violence across and within coun-
tries. <strong>The</strong> killing <strong>of</strong> a person is one <strong>of</strong> the most
serious crimes and therefore tends to be recorded
more effectively than other crimes. <strong>The</strong> fact <strong>of</strong> a
dead body is usually processed by the medical
or public health system, in addition to the police
and criminal justice system, creating two potential
sources <strong>of</strong> administrative statistics. In addition
to counting direct and indirect deaths from armed
conflict, numbers and rates <strong>of</strong> homicides are use-
ful indicators to capture the non-conflict-related
burden <strong>of</strong> armed violence.
<strong>Armed</strong> violence also results in many tens <strong>of</strong> thou-
sands more victims than the 490,000 homicide
victims in 2004. <strong>The</strong>re are, however, no reliable
estimates for the number <strong>of</strong> people who are injured
(with either minor injuries or permanent disabili-
ties), or who become victims <strong>of</strong> armed crimes
such as robbery, carjacking, or armed assault.
<strong>The</strong> legal label ‘homicide’ captures a wide range
<strong>of</strong> acts, including domestic disputes that end in
a killing; interpersonal violence; violent conflicts
over land, resources, grazing, or water rights;
inter-gang clashes over turf or control; and pred-
atory violence and killing by armed groups. For
example, most <strong>of</strong> the deaths in Kenya in the after-
math <strong>of</strong> the disputed 2007 election would be
considered intentional homicide, as would the
more than 2,500 persons killed in drug-related