Gun violence should be viewed as a major public health issue and be addressed just as health issues are, attacking the root causes of the problem.That was the view shared by Minister with responsibility for Culture, Senator Dr Shantal Munro-Knight, as she spoke in the Senate on Wednesday, on the Firearms (Amendment) Bill 2022.She said the traditional methods of fighting crime are long outdated and a public health model approach should be used to address the issues head-on.“The evidence is suggesting that more comprehensive approaches now are following what is called a public health model…. What the literature is saying is that we take the notion from public health that when you are dealing with a pandemic or severe illness that you go to the root cause or the drivers of that behaviour, and introduce measures in order to be able to change and adapt behaviour at the root cause over the long term, using science and measuring,” the Government Senator explained.She noted that a recent UN Habitat study had stressed the importance of shifting away from outdated crime-fighting models to a more contemporary approach.
