Integrating gender and demand perspectives in small arms control processes

Gender
When the UN Programme of Action was adopted in 2001, the only reference to gender referred to the “to need to consider how the illicit arms trade can have a ‘negative impact on women and the elderly’. Since then, civil society, international and non-governmental organizations as well as researchers and academics, including the Small Arms Survey, have demonstrated that the illicit proliferation of small arms impacts people differently on the basis of their gender. For example, the Survey's Global Violent Deaths database highlights that 91% people killed with firearms are men and boys - largely because they tend to play more active roles in conflict and violent crime. When it comes to threats towards women and girls, firearms are more often used to facilitate gender-based violence such as conflict-related sexual violence and domestic violence, which remains widespread and persistent. These findings, coupled with references to gender and small arms in other frameworks such as the Arms Trade Treaty, UN General Assembly Resolutions on women and arms control and the Women and Peace and Security agenda have led member states to push for stronger language on gender within the POA, especially at BMS7 and BMS8. Provisions have largely centred around topics such as:

• the full, equal, meaningful and effective participation of women;
• the differential impact of the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons on women, men, girls and boys;
• disaggregating data by sex, age and disability;
• gender-sensitive policymaking and programming and exchanging national experiences, lessons learned and good practices on mainstreaming a gender perspective;
• linkages to complementary frameworks such as the women and peace and security agenda.

New topics that may be discussed at RevCon4 include the gendered motivations to acquire illicit small arms and light weapons, intersectional approaches to understanding the gendered impacts of small arms on specific groups (such as LGBTQ communities and youth, for example), and efforts to improve gender balance within the POA process itself.

Demand
Since the 1990s, arms control experts and policymakers have come to recognize the importance of a demand perspective. Yet, demand-side factors have often been sidelined due to their absence from the mandates of international agreements. The UN Programme of Action's preamble emphasizes the pressing need for international cooperation to combat this trade from both supply and demand perspectives, yet the operational clauses primarily focus on addressing supply-side factors. Only one reference to demand-side factors is made, encouraging states and international and regional organizations to consider supporting conflict prevention efforts, including addressing root causes in negotiated settlements (Watson and Shaban, 2023). The Fourth Review Conference (RevCon4) of the UN Programme of Action (PoA) represents an opportunity to delve into the issue of demand and to bring it back to the forefront of the international arms control agenda. To learn more about the Small Arms Survey publication featuring a demand optic, please refer to the links below.

Find out more by reading the publications below or checking out relevant outputs in our Resource Library.

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Gender:

How are sex, firearms, and homicidal violence linked? By the Small Arms Survey Infographic     |     June 2024 English

 

Gender-responsive Small Arms Control: A Practical Guide Genrer le contrôle des armes légères: Guide pratique La perspectiva de género en el control de las armas pequeñas: Guía práctica By Emile Lebrun (Ed.) Handbook     |     Octobre 2019 English, Español, Français

 

More firearms, more security, or greater gender violence in Chile? ¿Más armas de fuego, más seguridad o mayor violencia de género en Chile? By Mariela Infante Erazo and Paula Salvo del Canto Blog     |     March 2024 English, Español

 

The Women, Police, and Insecurity Agenda: Argentina’s Response to Surging Femicide and Domestic Gun Violence by its Security Forces Mujeres, policía e inseguridad: la respuesta de Argentina al aumento de los feminicidios y la violencia doméstica con armas de fuego por parte de sus fuerzas de seguridad By Nayla Santisteban Blog     |     August 2023 English, Español

 

Driven into their Arms: Exploring Gendered Motivations of Violent Extremism By Callum Watson Blog     |     July 2023 English

 

Keep your distance — but keep your gun, too: New responses from the Argentinian state to gender-based violence No te podrás acercar, pero… ¿conservarás tu arma de fuego? Nueva respuesta del Estado argentino a la violencia de género By Aldana Romano and Julián Alfie Blog     |     May 2023 English, Español

 

Tackling Armed Domestic Violence in the Caribbean and Central America La lutte contre la violence domestique armée dans les Caraïbes et en Amérique centrale By Charline Perdrix Blog     |     March 2023 English, Français

 

Meaningful Partners: Opportunities for Collaboration between Women, Peace and Security, and Small Arms Control at the National Level By Callum Watson Briefing Paper     |     February 2024 English

 

Global Violent Deaths in 2021 By the Small Arms Survey Infographics     |     December 2023 English

 

Ending armed violence perpetrated against people on the basis of real or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity or expression and sexual characteristics (SOGIESC) within the framework of the United Nations Programme of Action on Small Arms (UNPoA) By Emile Lebrun (Ed.) IANSA Factsheet     |     December 2023 English, Español, Français

 

 

Demand:

What Happened To Demand? Getting Small Arms Control Back on Track By Callum Watson and Aline Shaban SIPRI Paper     |     March 2024 English

 

Demanding Attention: Addressing the Dynamics of Small Arms Demand Changement de perspective: La dynamique de la demande en armes légères et de petit calibre Cambio de perspectiva: La dinámica de la demanda de armas By David Atwood, Anne-Kathrin Glatz, and Robert Muggah Occasional Paper     |     January 2006 English, Español, Français

 

More firearms, more security, or greater gender violence in Chile? ¿Más armas de fuego, más seguridad o mayor violencia de género en Chile? By Mariela Infante Erazo and Paula Salvo del Canto Blog     |     March 2024 English, Español

 

From Conflict to Consequence: Nearly Half of Ukrainian Men Would Like to Own a Firearm, Or Already Have One Від конфлікту до наслідків: Майже половина українських чоловіків хотіли б мати вогнепальну зброю або вже її мають By Gergely Hideg Situation Update     |     December 2023 English, Ukrainian

 

Between Tradition and the Law: Artisanal Firearm Production in West Africa Entre tradition et lois: la production artisanale d’armes à feu en Afrique de l’Ouest By Julien Joly and Aline Shaban Briefing Paper     |     November 2023 English, Français

 

Weapons Compass: The Caribbean Firearms Study By Anne-Séverine Fabre, Nicolas Florquin, Aaron Karp, and Matt Schroeder Report     |     April 2023 English

 

Perceptions, Vulnerabilities, and Prevention: Violent Extremism Threat Assessment in Selected Regions of the Southern Libyan Borderlands and North-Western Nigeria Perceptions, vulnérabilités et prévention: Une évaluation de la menace que représente l’extrémisme violent dans quelques zones frontalières du sud de la Libye et au nord-ouest du Nigeria التصورات، ومكامن الضعف، وسُبل المنع تقييم تهديد التطرف العنيف في مناطق مختارة من الأراضي الحدودية بجنوب ليبيا وشمال غرب نيجيريا By Nicolas Florquin, Hafez S. AbuAdwan, Gergely Hideg, and Alaa Tartir Report     |     November 2022 Arabic, English, Français

 

Nigeria: National Small Arms and Light Weapons Survey By the Small Arms Survey Report     |     August 2021 English