Impact of Firearms on Women and Girls in Post-Conflict Settings - Small Arms Survey
Women and girls experience armed violence within and across contexts. This is especially so in post-conflict settings, which tend to be long-lasting and often characterized by residual fighting or high levels of lethal violence. Yet, there is a continuity of violence across contexts: conflict-era dynamics surrounding VAWG influence the magnitude and types of VAWG in post-conflict environments. Disarmament programmes rarely translate into the total removal of all firearms from the community. This results in the proliferation of licit firearm ownership but also illicit firearm possession and trafficking. Guns used for war-making are thus also used in acts of VAWG in the post-conflict period (both within and outside the home). The combination of experiences of wartime violence by combatants with the presence of a firearm within the home, for instance, increases the risk of the use of guns in against intimate partners or family members. The trafficking of illicit firearms not only undermines levels of law and order in society, but is also linked to higher levels of female victimization outside the home, as guns are used in cases of femicide and sexual violence.
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- Assess and monitor the impact of DDR programmes on domestic violence in post-conflict settings. Examine how the exposure of former combatants to violence can affect the levels of domestic and intimate partner violence in the post-conflict period. Explore the inability of DDR programmes to collect all firearms in the community, and the use of these firearms in acts of VAWG (especially intimate partner and domestic violence). Examine the role of un-surrendered firearms in heightening perceptions of insecurity, both inside the home and in the community. Include women and women’s organizations in the decision making process and monitoring of DDR programmes.
- Encourage the development of gender-inclusive and sensitive firearms control mechanisms. Take account of domestic violence when drafting firearms legislation, or reviewing firearms ownership and licencing procedures. Facilitate the involvement of women and women’s organizations in firearms collection and registration campaigns. Encourage the participation of women in the management of state weapons and ammunition stockpiles in an effort to limit the proliferation of illicit small arms and their trafficking.
- Support the collection of survey data (gender disaggregated) on security perceptions and victimization as a result of armed violence (including deaths and injuries). The collection of data would allow for the monitoring of UNSCR 1889 (2009) indicators 14 and 17 (on armed violence against women and girls and on national mechanisms for the control of illicit SALWs). It would also ensure that data is collected in order to develop targeted policies and programming which, in turn, would allow for a significant reduction in all forms of violence and related death rates in the world (as per the proposed SDG 16.1.).
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1. Gender-sensitive firearms licensing in Senegal: The prevalence of guns in highly militarized settings increases the risk of VAWG, especially inside the home. Evidence suggests preventing and reducing domestic violence in such contexts can be done through gender sensitive firearms licensing. Senegal is a case in point. Due to the high participation of women’s groups and gun-control CSOs in the drafting of the Senegalese 1325 NAP, the plan stipulated clear commitments to addressing the negative impact of firearms ownership, proliferation and small arms trafficking in the country. In relation to firearms licensing, a new legislation was proposed in 2013, including provisions for ensuring that firearm permits are not granted where there is a ‘risk’ of them being used in perpetrating domestic violence. Assessment of risk is determined by taking note of a history of domestic violence – both through taking note of past accusations and prosecutions of domestic violence, and obtaining input from the applicant’s partner (male or female).
Example drawn from: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/A-Yearbook/2014/en/Small-A...
2. Illicit firearms and VAWG in Liberia: Firearm trafficking has been found to have an impact on the patterns of female victimization, including instances of rape and sexual assault as well as domestic violence. The effects of arms trafficking on VAWG are compounded when there is inadequate enforcement of existing national laws, and when women and women’s organizations are excluded from the prevention of proliferation of small arms and monitoring of their trafficking. These insights are echoed in the Liberian 1325 NAP, which includes provisions to review and revise legislation dealing with VAWG and to increase the role of women in conflict and violence prevention, by including their participation in early warning systems and on combating the illicit small arms trafficking. Specifically, it refers to the training of 150 women in border areas, for supplying information to public authorities as part on an early warning system for armed violence and conflict. These women would report signs of impending violence, spikes in gender-based violence but also, in the illicit small arms trafficking in their area, allowing thus for timely and targeted government intervention.
Example drawn from: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/A-Yearbook/2014/en/Small-A...
and http://www.un.org/womenwatch/ianwge/taskforces/wps/nap/LNAP_1325_final.pdf
