Public health approaches to youth involvement in violence: Examining stakeholders’ perspectives in Australia and the United Kingdom

Australia and the United Kingdom (UK) have each witnessed a ‘punitive turn’ in relation to youth justice responses. A lack of contextualisation, such as the impact of trauma and adverse childhood experiences on young people, is often overlooked by media outlets, governments and policymakers, in favour of individual pathologisation of young people. In direct contrast to these punitive responses, the public health approach (PHA) has emerged particularly in the UK; and it identifies experiences of trauma as one of the leading causes of violence within communities. Drawing on the perspectives of those working with children and young people, we critically explore whether the implementation of a PHA could be an effective approach to addressing the underlying causes of young people's involvement in violence. The paper focuses specifically on a case study of the youth justice system in Victoria, Australia and draws on domestic and global perspectives of key stakeholders, to consider whether the introduction of a PHA in Victoria, Australia, would position young people's diverse needs at the centre of policy change in youth justice and better outcomes for young people and communities.