Disarm Domestic Violence In The Global Week Of Action
THIS is the Global Week of Action Against Gun Violence, and events are being held in 85 countries to draw attention to the human toll of small arms proliferation and misuse.
For women, the greatest risk of gun violence is in their own home. The statistics are shocking. Women are three times more likely to die violently if there is a gun in the house. Usually the perpetrator is a spouse or partner, often with a prior record of domestic abuse. For every woman killed or physically injured by firearms, many more are threatened.
This is why activists in Namibia are joining their colleagues from more than 28 countries to demand policies which would keep women safe from gun violence. As we have seen recently in horrific cases like the murder of a mother and daughter by the daughter’s boyfriend in Ovitoto last week, Namibian women are in need of better laws and policies.
Disarming Domestic Violence is the first international campaign aimed at protecting women from gun violence in the home. The main goal is to ensure that people with a history of domestic abuse are denied access to firearms, or have their licenses revoked. Of the nearly 900 million small arms in the world today, more than 75% are in the hands of private individuals – most of them men. Given this, women are paying a disproportionately heavy price for the multi-billion dollar trade in small arms.
The Nangof Trust is a member of the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA), which is pressing for spouses and partners to be consulted before a gun licence is granted, as an essential measure to protect women.
In many cases, the man who kills a woman has previously threatened or committed violence, without coming to the notice of police. This was the case in the Ovitoto killings. During the Global Week of Action Against Gun Violence, the government should recognise that family killings are the only category of homicide in which women outnumber men as victims, and pledge to protect women in their homes.
This week is an opportunity for the government to announce its support for strong and effective policies to Disarm Domestic Violence. With so many people – and especially women – suffering from gun violence in our country, there is no time to lose.
Pauline Dempers
NANGOF Trust