The chapter attempts to determine what triggers violence in Latin America and the Caribbean; what can be done to curb violence, both inside and outside the home; and what can be learned from the region’s experience with violence. The chapter classifies types of violence, identifies the principal contributing or risk factors and charts some of the principal socioeconomic costs that result from violence. It also attempts to link policy recommendations for reducing violence to the factors that generate it; this epidemiological approach has been used successfully to reduce violence in several cities in the Latin American and Caribbean region and could be fruitfully applied in other cities and countries. Finally, the chapter outlines broad priority areas (including governmental action to combat poverty and to reform and modernize judicial and police systems) for future efforts to reduce violence in the region. Tables, notes, references