Hay pandillas en mi pueblo. ¿Qué puedo hacer? Guía de trabajo para gobiernos locales – Diseño de políticas de prevención de la violencia armada orientada a niños, niñas y jóvenes

‘Hay pandillas en mi pueblo. ¿Qué puedo hacer?’ (There are gangs in my community. What can I do?) – Designing armed violence prevention policies and programmes. The presence of boys, girls and young people in gangs or mobs affected by organized armed violence has a negative effect on many countries in the Latin American and Caribbean region. The transnational criminal gang “Maras” in Mexico, Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras, the drug factions in Brazil, Ecuador or the Dominican Republic, and the delinquent gangs in Colombian communities are notorious examples of the new face of violence that must be addressed immediately by local governments throughout the region. Local governments and municipalities have the legal authority to implement violence prevention policies, and a mobilized community is the most promising way to deal with the gang problem. This guide offers a practical child-rights based approach to addressing gang-related problems in the communities.