Building sustainable institutional capacities for Gender Responsive Firearms License Approval

The regional Training of Trainers (ToT) on the practical application of the Guidelines for Gender Responsive Firearms License Approval was organized in Budva, Montenegro from 4 to 8 November 2024.

The regional ToT follows the finalization of the Guidelines for Gender Responsive Firearms License Approval. Through a set of practical checklists, the Guidelines aim to support professionals involved in firearms license approval to address the challenges, integrate the gender perspective throughout the process, and, in doing so, effectively prevent firearms misuse in domestic violence and violence against women as well as prevent the firearms misuse by groups most at risk, young men in particular.

The five-day regional training got together 16 police officers from five Western Balkans jurisdictions in charge of firearm license approval and officers in charge of conducting background checks during this process. During the training, participants attained practical knowledge on the application of Guidelines in their everyday work, gained necessary training skills, practiced design and delivery of the training related to the Guidelines, and deepened their understanding of domestic violence, its dynamics, characteristics, and types, and the role of firearms in domestic violence.

Following the ToT, participants will develop and deliver one-day trainings in their respective institutions with SEESAC’s support. The ToT is an initial step in establishing the regional pool of trainers in police directorates of Western Balkan jurisdictions, which will further facilitate capacity building and regional exchange of experience in the prevention of firearms misuse in domestic violence.

The training was organized under the regional project ‘Support for Enhancing the Fight Against the Illegal Possession, Misuse, and Trafficking of Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) in the Western Balkans’ funded by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Neighborhood and Enlargement Negotiations, through the Instrument for Pre-accession Assistance (IPA II). Through this project, SEESAC is providing support to authorities in the Western Balkans to mainstream the gender perspective in the SALW control measures and, in particular, to prevent and combat the misuse of firearms in domestic violence.