Gender and Small Arms
The proliferation, use and impact of SALW display clear gender dimensions. As in other regions, in SEE men are the primary owners and users of SALW, as well as the primary victims of firearms-related crime. Women, on the other hand, are primarily victims of armed violence, and most often at the hands of family members or intimate partners. The impact of SALW on women can take many different forms. Besides actual injury by firearms, many women suffer psychologically from being threatened or intimidated by a weapon as a tool of domestic violence. In this regard SALW control must be improved and explicitly linked with measures to reduce domestic and other forms of gender-based violence. Equally, women are affected when men fall victim to armed crime, as they may become economically responsible for the household through the loss of a husband, father or brother.
Gender and SALW must also be considered from the male perspective in order to develop comprehensive solutions. The acceptance of gun ownership and armed violence, and even its positive link to masculinity in many parts of the Balkans, must be addressed in order to change these attitudes and draw attention to the negative impact of firearms on all of society. Measures must be taken to reduce the number of guns in society but also to change attitudes towards firearms ownership and use and develop ways to resolve conflicts without violence.
In developing solutions to the problem of firearms proliferation and armed violence therefore, the views of men and women must be taken into account. One major step towards this will be the inclusion of women in decision-making circles in the security and judicial sectors, which have traditionally been seen as a male domain.
SEESAC received funding from the BCPR in 2007 and has undertaken research and developed a strategy and concrete projects to support the process of addressing the problem of SALW from a gender perspective. This section of the website has been developed to provide information to stakeholders on existing projects and links to resources that will be useful for those addressing this issue.
Key Documents
SEESAC Research - Firearms and Domestic Violence
- Firearms Possession and Domestic Violence in the Western Balkans: A Comparative Study of Legislation and Implementation Mechanisms
This report is available in regional languages under Publications/ Study Reports
Resources
- Missing Pieces Handbook - A Guide for reducing gun violence through Parliamentary Action (HD, IPU)
- Gender perspectives on Small Arms: What are the linkages between small arms issues and gender perspectives? (UNDDA)
- Gender Perspectives on Disarmament and Development: What are the linkages between disarmament, development and gender perspectives? (UNDDA)
- Gender Perspectives on Small Arms and Light Weapons: Regional and International Concerns (BICC)
- Mapping the use of Guns in Violence against Women: Findings from three studies (Institute for Security Studies)
- Gender and Small Arms Moving into the Mainstream (Institute for Security Studies)
- Putting a Human Face to the Problem of Small Arms Proliferation; Gender Implications for the Effective Implementation of the UN PoA (IA)
- The Impact of Guns on Women's Lives (Oxfam, AI, IANSA)
- Information Kit on Women and Gun Violence (IANSA)
- Survivors - Women Affected by Gun Violence Speak Out (IANSA)
Links
