Holder’s mission
When U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder uses the word “epidemic” to describe the rise of violence witnessed by children, he is not indulging in hyperbole. Use of the word is part of his mission to recast the problem of violence seen by or done to kids as a public health issue, one that demands responses from multiple institutions — not just law enforcement — to address both symptoms and prevention. On May 6 Holder brought this message to The Forum at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) in remarks and a discussion broadcast live via the web and posted as an on-demand webcast. Children’s exposure to violence, which can cause physical, emotional, and psychological harm, is “one of the greatest public safety and public health epidemics of our time,” Holder told the audience. Children today are much more likely than adults to be exposed to violence and crime, from bullying at...