Seminar: “Exploring the Links and Challenges to Policy: Guns and Violence Against Women in South Africa”
22 June 2004, Institute for Security Studies, South Africa. By Emily Schroeder

Every six hours a woman is killed by her intimate partner in South Africa. Weapons availability and misuse plays an alarming role in this problem. Of women killed by intimate partners in South Africa between 1990 and 1999, one in every five of the perpetrators (20.6%) had a legal firearm (Lisa Vetten, Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation).

With South Africa having the second-highest incidence of gun violence in the world, second only to Colombia (Small Arms Survey 2004), much attention needs to be focussed on the nexus between gender based violence and weapons availability.

With South Africa’s new Firearms Control Act (FCA, 2000) entering into force on 1 July 2004, the ISS held a seminar addressing the relationship between the implementation of the FCA and South Africa’s Domestic Violence Act (1998).

More than sixty participants attended, including representatives of NGOs, academia, police, relevant governmental agencies and ministries, justice officials, social workers and counsellors.

The meeting included presentations from Jackie Cock (University of the Witwatersrand) on the gender dimensions of gun culture in South Africa, Lisa Vetten (Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation) on preliminary findings of a Medical Research Council study on femicide in South Africa, and Margie Keegan from Gun Free South Africa on the role of civil society in developing the Firearms Control Act.

Additional presentations were given by Fathima Bayat (Advice Desk for Abused Women) describing the ranges of cases of violence in the home involving firearms and from Anthony Minnaar (University of South Africa) on the role of the police and courts in excluding ‘unfit persons’ from firearm ownership. In addition, Taya Weiss (ISS) discussed regional training programs on policing and ending violence against women and children.

The meeting concluded with an open session to identify policy implications, challenges and opportunities related to weapons control and violence in the home in South Africa. Some of the highlights include:

(1) Overlapping Issues and Gaps

• Lack of communication between different agencies handling cases of violence in the home and firearms issues. There is little consistency on when and why weapons are removed by police from domestic violence situations which if coordinated effectively could reduce the chances of repeat offenders accessing weapons.
• Lack of integrated information. An integrated justice system linking databases of fingerprints, criminal records, firearm ownership, and the domestic violence register would increase the effectiveness of background checks.
• Lack of communication within police stations among officers with different duties. There is no mechanism for police officers responsible for social crime or family violence to communicate with the officers responsible for firearms.
• The time lag in issuing protection orders is putting women in danger. There are many instances of women having to wait a year for a court date to secure a protection order.

(2) Recommendations

Training
• Train police. This could include developing a nation-wide standardised training on the FCA; training on the links between the FCA and the DVA; and developing standard procedures for handling cases of violence in the home involving firearms.
• Train court officials. For example, so that court officials can recognise the need to ensure a protection order is issued along with a firearms seizure order.
• Inter-agency training for all relevant bodies. Joint training could include police, justice officials, women’s shelters, clinics and NGOs to develop a “broad sheet” on who is responsible for particular task.
• Set up feedback mechanisms enabling the sharing of information. ‘Information-sharing’ meetings between court officers, police, women’s refuge staff and civil society would help to develop a common understanding of how these Acts are and could be implemented.
• Monitor training. Training does not necessarily translate into changed behaviour. Monitoring the impact will help to evolve training methods to ensure the desired results.

Societal Awareness-raising
• Provide victims of violence in the home with information on her rights and options.
• Sensitise the South African public on the FCA. More widely disseminated information would help the general public to support the Act, and shift attitudes on gun violence in South Africa.
• Sensitise legal gun owners. In order to respect the law, gun-owners should know their responsibilities (and associated penalties) related to safe storage and legal use in the home.

(3) Areas for relevant research

• Explore the issue of why weapons are used to perpetrate violence in the home. What role do guns play in domestic violence? Different cases could be analysed to determine what factors put women at risk of gun violence in the home.
• Gather evidence from survivors of armed violence in the home. Develop a quantitative and qualitative approach to gauging the views of women who access refuge services. This would directly bring the experiences of those affected into policy-making processes.
• Monitor the implementation of the Firearms Control Act. With the FCA entering into force on 1 July 2004, now is an opportune time to collect baseline data to determine whether or not the Act is functioning properly.
• Investigate the high rate of withdrawn legal cases. 78% of domestic violence cases reported in South Africa are withdrawn from the legal system. More information is needed on the reasons for and timing of such withdrawals.
• Explore attitudes of the police on domestic violence. Evidence suggests that police avoid and dislike cases of violence in the home. How does this change or not when firearms are involved? How can the attitude be changed?
• Investigate FCA provisions allowing a firearm licence for self-defence purposes. Are there cases of women in abusive situations using this provision to attain a firearm? How does the law determine whether a firearm is the only available means for self-defence?

For more information, go to:
• South Africa’s Firearms Control Act
• South Africa’s Domestic Violence Act
• “Every six hours a woman is killed by her intimate partner: A National Study of Female Homicide in South Africa.” South Africa Medical Research Council Policy Brief No. 5, June 2004

A full report of the seminar is forthcoming on the Institute for Security Studies website . For further information please contact Emily Schroeder.