The introduction notes that violence is a common feature of many people's lives. It also notes that the varieties of representations and the self-evident nature of many forms of violence represent a major obstacle to understanding and hence solving it and that the definition of a problem determines what solutions are considered. Individual papers present a public health perspective on trauma and its prevention, efforts to address violence against women and children, and the public reaction to the Zero Tolerance campaign conducted by the Women's Committee at Edinburgh District Council in Scotland. Additional papers examine the conditions of work for street prostitutes in Glasgow, Scotland; violence in the United States; counts of war casualties; and justifications for certain forms of collective violence. Tables, index, and chapter notes and reference lists