What is the VAPF project?

The Violence Against Public Figures (VAPF) project seeks to expand academics and practitioners understanding of violence, specifically in Central America, by constructing a comprehensive cross-national, panel dataset of incidents of lethal violence against a range of public figures. 

Why does the VAPF dataset matter?

Advancing and increasing understanding of violence towards public figures is of vital importance because this targeted violence can have broad and serious ripple effects on society and governance. For example, killing candidates limits the choices available to electorates, killing judges or prosecutors undermines the rule of law, killing security officials may result in further militarization of the police force, killing journalists compromises freedom of the press, and killing activists has clear consequences for civil society and the various social movements to which these activists provide leadership. Thus, lethal violence against public figures warrants far greater attention. When completed, this dataset would be the first comprehensive, cross-national panel dataset of violence against a range of public figures, all of whom are important to functioning democracy and all have become targets of assassinations in Central America.

​What is the scope of the VAPF project?

​Eventually, the VAPF dataset aims to be inclusive of numerous forms of public figures who have been killed from 2000 to present in Central America. However, we are progressing through collating data in various rounds. For more information on our data collection and which categories of public figures, countries, and years we’re currently working on, click here.

Support & Funding for the VAPF Project

The University of Nevada, Reno
The Harry F. Guggenheim Foundation