Firearm suicide is a serious consequence of firearm proliferation and an aspect of armed violence. It constitutes a major health problem in Western cultures and an emerging issue in low-income countries.

Although public perception generally associates firearms with interpersonal violence, in Europe and North America firearm suicides outnumber firearm homicides. More than half of the global total of such suicides (52 per cent) are committed in North America, whereas 15 per cent occur in Western Europe, 14 per cent in South America, and 19 per cent in the rest of the world.

Since the start of Syria’s civil war, the country has become a hotbed of arms trafficking and proliferation of conventional weapons. Images and accounts reveal that armed groups have acquired a variety of small arms and light weapons, some of which are recent-generation systems rarely encountered outside of government control elsewhere. Among the most sensitive of these are numerous man-portable air defence systems (MANPADS) looted from Syrian government depots and acquired elsewhere, many of which are newer and more technologically sophisticated than illicit MANPADS in other countries.

Consistent access to small arms ammunition is vital to armed conflict; this is particularly true in conflicts involving non-state armed groups that rely on illicit small arms and light weapons as their primary tools of war.

A detailed examination of seized or documented small arms ammunition may help to reveal the history and alliances of a conflict, while the tracing of illicit ammunition can identify
manufacturers and supply routes.

Honduras has seen more than 42,000 people violently killed over the past nine years (2014), out of a population of 8.3 million. In 80 per cent of cases the weapon used was a firearm.

While the homicide rate has levelled off between 2011 and 2012, it still remains extremely high compared to the rest of the world.

This Small Arms Survey Research Note discusses the specific characteristics of armed violence in Honduras and explores some of the key areas for research needed in order to respond to the problem.

When a person is shot with a firearm, the result is not always fatal. Many victims of firearm violence survive, but suffer severe consequences, and their treatment and recovery place a heavy burden on these survivors, their families, communities, and on society.

In the wake of a decade-long civil war that claimed more than 13,000 lives, Nepal’s uneasy peace has been plagued by uncertainties, tied to the volatile political environment, the gridlocks over the drafting of the new constitution, and the reported proliferation of criminal activities. This rapid succession of changes has raised new questions about the overall security situation in the country.

Violence against women, and the reluctance of authorities to deal with it, present a serious challenge to Indian society, law enforcement, and judicial affairs. Numerous incidents involving group rapes and rape and murder—such as the Nirbhaya case in New Delhi in 2012—have captured national and international attention. While domestic violence and public intimidation are familiar to women across India, statistics remain scarce and unreliable.

In the wake of a decade-long civil war that claimed more than 13,000 lives, Nepal’s uneasy peace has been plagued by uncertainties, tied to the volatile political environment, the gridlocks over the drafting of the new constitution, and the reported proliferation of criminal activities. This rapid succession of changes has raised new questions about the overall security situation in the country.

By Robert Muggah, co-published with Oxfam.

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A recent survey on perceptions of security in Kenya found that the highest area of concern among household respondents was safety during electioneering periods. Specifically, 48.4 per cent felt most unsafe during political campaigns: an understandable anxiety, given Kenya’s recent political history and its recurrent electoral violence.