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Overview

In today’s world, many people in developing countries live in fear. They are afraid of criminals who roam the streets and hurt them.

Violence is devastating to individuals and can cripple entire nations. It’s like locusts devouring everything in their path, including the structures that are trying to be built up by non-profit organizations. Governments often fail at keeping crime rates down, so what should these organizations do? You’ll find out some of the answers in this article, along with why businesses in poor countries sometimes pay huge amounts of money for private courts; how policing works differently in India than it does in the United Kingdom; and how a short-term project accomplished a large reduction of commercial child abuse.

Big Idea #1: Violence has a big impact on the populations and economies of developing countries.

Many people believe that poor communities are the root of society’s problems. Wealthier classes even tend to fear them. However, it’s actually the violent people who pose a threat to those communities.

Violence is the most destructive force in society, and it costs countries twice as much as natural disasters. For example, Hurricane Stan was a huge disaster that cost Guatemala’s economy greatly. However, criminal violence costs Guatemala roughly twice as much each year.

Violent crimes have a greater impact on countries like Colombia or El Salvador because it hinders economic growth. It reduces the workforce by rendering healthy people incapable of work, and even cuts down years of life due to violence.

Violence has a huge impact on the world’s poorest regions. In Africa, for example, women do most of the farm work and violence can severely cut their food production. This is especially disastrous in developing countries like Ethiopia where victims suffer higher rates of depression, substance abuse and suicide.

Big Idea #2: Law enforcement fails the poor in many developing countries.

It’s sad to think about, but in many developing countries the police don’t protect poor people. They are often corrupt and side with the rich against the poor.

A 14-year old girl named Maria was raped three times by the same taxi driver. When the police found out, they refused to investigate and even shouted at her, accusing her of seducing him.

In developing countries, people are often denied legal protection. For example, Dan is a teenager from Kenya who has been in jail for eight months and now faces life imprisonment without a fair trial.

Dan and two friends were guarding the local water fountain when a fight broke out between them and an older man. The boys were arrested for violent robbery, but since they don’t speak the language used in court proceedings, they have no legal representation.

Being poor doesn’t cause violence. People who are poor are more likely to experience violence because they’re not protected from it.

Malaria is a disease that kills 90% of the people who get it. Most of these people live in poverty. It’s not that malaria disproportionately affects poor people, it’s that poor people don’t have access to good medical treatment for it.

Violence is similar to that of Maria’s rapist. Crimes against the poor often go unpunished, so criminals who are poor will continue their bad behavior.

Big Idea #3: The police and the justice systems are often dysfunctional in developing countries.

You wouldn’t go to a butcher for heart surgery. This is like the police in developing countries: they’re untrained and ignorant about what their job requires of them.

In fact, a Human Rights Watch report from 2009 found that 85 percent of police officers in India are constables. They’re not trained to deal with criminal cases and do not have much legal training either. There simply aren’t enough police officers in many parts of the world. For example, Bangladesh only spends $1.50 on law enforcement per capita each year, according to a 2005 study by the Development Bank of Asia. Compare this to Washington DC, which spends $2.33 per capita on the police force each day! Courts in developing countries also often suffer from a shortage of prosecutors as well; for instance, there is one prosecutor for every 12000 people in the United States but only ten prosecutors for 15 million citizens in Malawi!