The effects of violence may include direct costs, such as the destruction of property and the loss of human lives, and indirect costs in the form of resources allocated to criminal justice and incarceration, as well as high health expenditures. In a more general sense, the rise in violence and insecurity undermines social cohesion and breeds public distrust with respect to the effectiveness of the rule of law as a means of ensuring people’s safety. The outcome document was presented at the eighteenth Ibero-American Summit of Heads of State and Government, held in El Salvador in October 2008, which focused on youth and development. This information was supplemented with data from other agencies also working on the implementation of policies aimed at reducing and eradicating youth violence. The second section outlines the major policies, programmes and approaches being applied to preventing youth violence, focusing in particular on legislative reforms and changes.