1. Firearms and Domestic Violence
Coalition for Gun Control

2. OVERVIEW The Problem Role of Firearms Legislation
Gender, Attitudes, Change
Implementation Issues
Conclusions and Implications: for research and policy

3. THE PROBLEM Women are affected differently by guns
In many contexts, more women are killed by intimate partners than strangers
When guns are available they are used in violence against women
Guns are more lethal – more women die
A gun in the home is a major risk factor for femicide
Guns are also used to threaten and subjugate women
Psychological and other impacts are significant
Risks to children and for suicide increase
Patterns are trans-national

4. Female Homicide Rates for 25 Populous High-Income Countries, 1994 to 1999 (per 100,000)

5. Femicide
WITH
GUNS
WITHOUT GUNS
TOTAL
rate
LOW
Hong Kong
0.03
0.73
0.76
Sweden
0.04
0.80
Netherlands
0.14
0.66
Germany
0.11
0.55
Spain
0.38
0.49
MEDIUM
Australia
0.27
0.87
1.14
Canada
0.29
0.67
0.96
Portugal
0.30
0.31
0.64
HIGH
Switzerland
0.61
0.72
1.34
United States
1.54
1.67
3.21

6. eg. Canada: Understand patterns
85% of women murdered in Canada killed by intimate partners versus 15% of men
In 1991: 1/3 of murders of women by husbands in Canada with guns - 88% long guns
Most killed in their homes
50% killers committed suicide
risk factors: alcohol, financial problems, marital breakdown, mental illness
for every death many are threatened: broader impacts
presence of firearm is a predictor of femicide, higher number of victims, murder-suicide
three inquests tell the story (Kassonde, May, Vernon)

7. Domestic Violence Risk Factors%
Separation from spouse
82%
Depression
73%
History of domestic violence
Prior threats to commit suicide or suicide attempts
55%
Possession or access to firearms
Obsessive behaviour
45%
Control of the victims activities
Excessive alcohol and/or drug use
Attempts to isolate the victim
36%
Escalation of violence
Destruction of the victims property
27%

8. Perpetrator unemployed
27%
Prior threats to kill the victim
Forced sexual acts or assaults during sex
18%
Isolation of victim
New partner in victim's life
Perpetrator witnessed domestic violence as a child
Violence against pets or livestock

9. ROLE OF FIREARMS LEGISLATION
UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (1998) called on states to “recognize the relevance of firearm regulation in addressing violence against women”
many countries explicitly target violence against women within firearms legislation

10. The Role of Legislation
Reduce the probability those who are a risk to themselves or others will obtain firearms
Reduce diversion of legal guns to illegal markets – raise barriers and effective prices
eg. screening processes for domestic violence, spousal notification, safe storage
Implementation is key – police, physicians, educators, shelters

11. Impact of Legislation
Reducing access to firearms in the home reduces lethality
In Great Britain, Australia and Canada, rates of women killed with guns dropped more than rates of men killed with guns (women more often killed in the home)
Rates of women killed with other means did not drop as dramatically
Laws both shape and reflect values: strong gun control reinforces values of non violence

12. Homicides of women with firearms
 1991
1995
2004
Number 85 43 32
-62%
Rate per 100,000
0.6
0.29
0.2
-67%
Homicides of women without firearms
185
152
166
-10%
1.3
1.02
1.04
-20%

13. Bunge, Valerie Pottie, National Trends in Intimate Partner Homicides, Juristat, Vol 22, No. 5, Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics, Statistics Canada, 2002 p.5

14. GENDER, ATTITUDES, CHANGE
Freedom from fear? There are significant gender splits in attitudes to firearms
Canada: 36% males, 59% females feared “you or someone in your household would be threatened or injured with a firearm”

15. Support for Gun Control Legislation January 2003
46-Firearms ownership
Q.46 The Government of Canada has passed a law concerning the ownership of firearms. This law requires that Canadians register each firearm that they own, prohibits certain kinds of firearms, requires that owners pass a safety test and a safety check, and that firearms are stored unloaded in a secure place. In general, do you support or oppose this law? Would that be strongly or somewhat?

16. - Barbara Frey, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights
“While male – dominated societies often justify small arms possession through the alleged need to protect vulnerable women, women actually face greater danger of violence when their families and communities are armed”
- Barbara Frey, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights

17. Resistance
Higher rates of gun ownership AND domestic violence in “honour cultures”
Link between attitudes to women, willingness to kill, homicide rates, and attitudes to gun ownership (McAlister, 2001).
“Honour cultures” have higher rates of gun ownership and interpersonal violence (Cohen, 1996).
Men (with guns) will often resist stronger gun laws
USA forced removal of any reference to regulation of civilian possession from the 2001 Program of Action on “The Illicit Trade of Small Arms in all its Aspects”
Many successful movements have been led by women

18. IMPLEMENTATION ISSUES
Laws are only words on paper: interpretation and application is critical
VAW is under-reported
Often law enforcement does not prioritize VAW
Justice systems trivialize VAW
Resources to address VAW are inadequate
VAW laws are not always linked to gun laws

19. Courts and Community based Policing
Improve implementation of laws and procedures to remove guns when there is a threat
Improve risk assessment: DOES HE HAVE A GUN?
Improve community/police relationships to prioritize violence against women
Training for police, judges, physicians, educators
Court watch: accountability

21. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
Women are affected differently by firearms: at risk from intimate partners, cycle of violence etc.
When firearms are accessible they are used in violence against women (lethality)
Current constructions (conflict versus crime; military versus non) not meaningful
Regulation of civilian possession of firearms is a critical to a global small arms strategy
Gender perspective is critical in addressing root causes, conflict and crime, implementation

22. Implications for Research
Disaggregate data by gender
Rates of murder with and without guns
Review femicide case studies to understand risk factors
Explore male/female attitudes to guns
Interviews of abused women (and workers with abused women) to understand the role of guns in cycle of abuse
Explore threats to children in homes with guns
Are children also killed with guns in the home?
Examine murder/suicide
Examine “gun culture” – media discourse, etc.
Examine application of laws and justice responses

23. Implications for Policy
Strong gun laws linked to domestic violence laws
Improve laws and procedures to remove guns when there is a threat
Improve risk assessment and interventions: DOES HE HAVE A GUN?
Improve community/police relationships to prioritize violence against women
Training for police, judges, physicians, educators
Understand link between attitudes to guns and violence against women
More women in policy and research
Analyse results of referendum

24. Human Rights Obligations
“a State can be held complicit [where it] condones a pattern of abuse through pervasive non-action … To avoid such complicity, States must demonstrate due diligence by taking active measures to protect, prosecute and punish private actors who commit abuses”
- Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women (E/CN.4/1996/53)

25. There is no international “right to bear arms” States which fail to implement effect regulation of firearms may be failing their obligations under international human rights law.
"there is also growing pressure to hold States accountable for patterns of abuse, such as the State's failure to establish reasonable regulation regarding the private ownership of small arms that are likely to be used in homicides, suicides and accidents; its failure to protect individuals from a pattern of domestic violence; and its failure to protect individuals from organized crimes including kidnapping and killing for ransom".
- Special Rapporteur on Human Rights and Small Arms (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2002/39; 5/ 2002)