Campaign of the Month: Disarm Domestic Violence

IANSA Women's Network: Disarm Domestic Violence

The campaign to disarm domestic violence, spearheaded by the IANSA Women's Network, must not end when the Arms Trade Treaty comes into force in December. The long arm of international law is not as long as we would like it to be for this purpose, if it is ever. The IANSA women's network continues to call for national legislation around the world to ensure that anyone with a history of domestic abuse is denied access to a firearm, and has their license revoked. As the network points out, the greatest risk of gun violence to women around the world is not on the streets, or the battlefield, but in their own homes. Women are three times more likely to die violently if there is a gun in the house; usually the perpetrator is a spouse or a partner, often with a prior record of domestic abuse.

This reality has not gone away, it will not go away in December.

What the IANSA Women's Network Does

The IANSA Women’s Network supports organisations working on women and violence prevention to combat gun violence in their communities and support the global campaign to reduce the proliferation and misuse of small arms. Its aims to connect organisations, provide information and resources, raise public awareness, and build a united and dynamic movement of women resisting gun violence around the world. To date, the Women’s Network has over 200 members from every region in the world.

The IANSA Women’s Network is supporting and connecting organisations working on women and gun violence so that they can effectively organise locally, nationally, regionally and globally. It welcomes the involvement of all organisations working on or interested in working on the impact of gun violence on women.

What You Can Do

In June, the network organised a Global Week of Action on Women and Gun Violence. This is an annual event and a date for all feminists and pacifists to look out for in 2015 as an opportunity to organise their own action.