Homicides in São Paulo and Salvador: a comparative analysis of their trajectories and the intersectoral prevention strategies

The project has a dual purpose: to examine the heterogeneity in the intra-urban trajectories of homicides in the cities of São Paulo and Salvador while seeking to identify the corresponding sociodemographic factors, and to explore to what extent public administration and civil society representatives share certain conceptions about homicides that favor the construction of intersectoral prevention mechanisms. It is therefore an interdisciplinary project structured around an epidemiological axis and a sociological axis with a qualitative approach. The general objectives are to investigate the existence of different trajectories in the homicide mortality rate in Salvador and São Paulo between 1997 and 2014, as well as their social determinants, and identify convergence and divergence points in the conceptions about prevention of violence and homicides put forth by public administration and civil society representatives. As for the epidemiological axis, the investigation of the trajectory of homicides comprises an ecological study with a time series (1997 to 2014), in which the units of analysis are the intra-urban areas (administrative districts in São Paulo and Information Zones in Salvador). As for the sociological (qualitative) axis we will conduct interviews and focus groups with key informants, public administration representatives, and local residents.