Sub-project 1. Reduce risk - Increase safety – Towards ending SALW misuse in domestic violence context (UNDP Serbia)

Duration

September 2019 – June 2021, Approved project continuation: April 2021 - December 2021

Beneficiary/ies

Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice, the group Journalists against Violence, women victims of domestic violence

Donor/s

German Federal Foreign Office (Funding Windows)

Funding Amount

USD 294,462 (cost-extension USD 150,000)

Funding gaps (if any)

N/A

Objective/s

The objective of the project is to reduce the misuse of firearms in the context of violence against women, domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence by improving practices and procedures related to criminal justice response to SALW misuse, setting up the basis for evidence-based policy making, increasing the awareness among general population on the dangers of illicit SALW possession and misuse, and developing knowledge packages for risk reduction of firearms misuse in the context of gender-based violence.

Contributing to the Roadmap goal/s

Contributing to the Roadmap overall targets

Goal 2:

• Fully integrate gender and age concerns in SALW/firearms control policies and ensure meaningful participation of women in SALW/firearms control.

Goal 4:

• Increase awareness among licensed private and legal entities about the danger of misuse and illicit proliferation of FAE.
• Increase awareness among general population, both women and men, on the danger of misuse, illicit possession and trafficking of FAE.
• Increase awareness and reduce the misuses of firearms in violence against women, domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence.

Key activities implemented up to date

• The project Reduce risk - Increase safety – Towards ending SALW misuse in domestic violence context, finalized the in-depth desk-review analysis of the procedures and practices related to the SALW license denial, removal and revocation in the context of domestic violence and existing procedures and practices related to the domestic violence committed by military and police officers, and developed a proposal of legislative provisions on how to effectively address the misuse of firearms in domestic violence in the Law on Weapons and accompanying bylaws. The project conducted research on judicial practice and response of the criminal-justice system related to detecting and misuse of firearms in the cases of domestic violence. The research represents a monitoring exercise of judiciary practices in processing and prosecution of gender-based violence enabled by SALW.
• The project produced an analysis of administrative data collection practices on the misuse of SALW in domestic and intimate partner violence. The analysis provides recommendations for improving data collection in order to enable effective case management, multi-agency data sharing, and more accurate data relevant for evidence-based policy making, including data that needs to be collected and fed into the methodology for the femicide review.
• A model for a monitoring framework to track reported cases of domestic violence with firearms use, including victims and perpetrators and institutional response to these cases in the context of the implementation of the Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence has been also developed as part of this exercise.  
• The project completed the analysis of cases of femicides committed with firearms inclusive of information for the development of risk-assessment checklists related to the prevention of SALW misuse in the context of gender-based violence and risks induced by the presence of firearms in a domestic violence context.
• Findings from the research were presented to professionals responding to cases of domestic violence from the police, prosecution and social services in four cities – Novi Sad, Nis, Kragujevac and Belgrade in June 2021.
• Guidelines for prosecutors, judges and multi-agency groups for cooperation and coordination on the collection of evidence and ensuring adequate protection and prosecution of cases of domestic violence were developed and published.
• The group “Journalists against Violence” completed the qualitative analysis of media reporting on domestic violence, including domestic violence committed with firearms for  2021. Based on  recommendations from the analysis of media reporting, the Group revised guidelines for ethical and gender-sensitive media reporting on domestic violence with new sections focused on GBV committed with firearms. The group organized   training of trainers for ethical media reporting including DV committed with firearms in November 2021.
• A social media campaign was implemented during November 2021 as part of 16 days of activism against violence against women global campaign.  The campaign featured a video on the dangers and consequences of firearm-enabled domestic and gender-based violence, with a reach of nearly 41000.
• The project completed E-learning training modules for the Ministry of Interior and Judicial Academy on domestic violence, including DV committed with firearms. Trainings for the Ministry of Interior are available through the official E-classroom platform, while trainings through the Judicial Academy will become available upon completion of technical requirements for platform launching.
• The project conducted an analysis on SALW and domestic violence in the period from the start the implementation of the Law on Prevention of Domestic Violence (2017-2019), as follow up to the SEESAC study on Gender and SALW.
• An informative guide was printed for applicants of firearms license applicants and their family members on key facts on domestic violence and firearms misuse, with information on the referral pathways for survivors of domestic violence.
• A policy paper was prepared mapping the relationship between domestic violence, SALW misuse and public health, as a foundation for short- and long-term actions, and aiming to strengthen the role of the health-care system in the prevention of firearms use in domestic violence.