Gender and Small Arms
A thousand people die every day by gunshot and many more are seriously injured. However, the global gun violence epidemic affects men and women differently. Men are the overwhelming majority of direct victims and perpetrators of gun violence; but women suffer disproportionately given that they are rarely gun purchasers, owners or users.
The IANSA Women’s Network believes that effective solutions to the global gun crisis will require a new, gender-sensitive approach. We must develop policies that reflect the different ways women and men are affected by and respond to guns. We must also ensure that women are fully involved in small arms policy and practice – including reform and enforcement of national gun laws, conflict resolution, peacebuilding and development.
More information:
Gender
Women
Men
Gender and the UN Small Arms Process
Gender and Small Arms
More information:
The Relevance of Gender for Eliminating Weapons of Mass Destruction
Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission No.38, 2005
Gender awareness in research on small arms
SwissPeace, 2005
Gender Perspectives on SALW: Regional and international concerns
BICC Brief 24, 2002
Briefing Note on Gender and Small Arms
United Nations Department for Disarmament Affairs, 2001 In the Line of Fire: A Gender Perspective on Small Arms Proliferation, Peace Building and Conflict Resolution
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, 2001
Gender does not mean women. It refers to the roles, behaviors, activities, and attributes that a society considers appropriate for men and women. Applying a gender perspective to the problem of gun violence requires understanding the different ways in which men, women, boys and girls are affected by and respond to armed violence.
Women and Small Arms
More information:
Fact Sheets
Publications
Websites
Fact Sheets
Information Kit on Women and Armed Violence
IANSA Women’s Network, March 2006
français
español
Women, War, Peace and Small Arms
UNIFEM Issue Brief
Women and Guns
Brady Campaign Fact Sheet
Women and Guns: The Facts
Women Against Guns Fact Sheet
Publications
Women and girls in contexts of armed violence. A case study on Rio de Janeiro
P@x Online Bulletin No. 6, June 2006
Survivors: Women affected by gun violence speak out
IANSA Women’s Network, July 2006
Mapping the use of guns in violence against women: Findings from three studies
Institute for Security Studies, August 2006
Small Arms and Women
Small Arms Working Group (SAWAG) Fact Sheet, April 2006
The impact of guns on women’s lives
Control Arms, March 2005
français
español
portuguese
Small Arms Violence Against Women
Norwegian Church Aid, 2005
Burundi: The Impact of Small Arms and Armed Violence on Women
UNDP Small Arms Reduction Programme (SARP), November 2004
A Deadly Myth Women, Handguns, and Self-Defense
Violence Policy Center, 2001
Methodologies to Measure the Gender Dimensions of Crime and Violence
World Bank, 2001
Female Persuasion: A Study of How the Firearms Industry Markets to Women and the Reality of Women and Guns
Violence Policy Center, 1998
Websites
Million Mom March
Women Against Gun Violence
Men and Small Arms
Men, particularly young men, constitute the vast majority of those who use and are killed or injured by small arms and light weapons. The World Health Organisation estimates that 90% of gun homicide victims are men and boys. To date, however, there has been little recognition that male victims and perpetrators deserve special attention when disarmament and arms control processes are planned.
More information
Publications
Websites
Publications
Hitting the target: Men and Guns
Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, June 2006
Few Options but the Gun: Angry Young Men
Small Arms Survey, June 2006
français
español
Men as Primary Victims of Armed Violence
Who takes the bullet? The impact of small arms violence
Norwegian Church Aid, 2005
Must Boys Be Boys? Ending Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in UN Peacekeeping Missions
Refugees International, 2005 Websites
A Call to Men
EngenderHealth
Pro Mundo
White Ribbon Campaign
Gender and the UN Process on Small Arms
| 
