August 24, 2021.
This annotated bibliography does not purport to fully survey and represent the breadth of the literature on intervention strategies aimed at curbing firearm violence against women. Still, the sources it covers should offer a reasonable overview of the current state of the knowledge on the topic, as well as a few effective legal reforms. However, an asterisk must be placed here since most of the research focused on the United States, and the effectiveness of the interventions outlined may differ in other contexts.
Overall, what the literature points to is the importance of restricting firearm access and possession in contexts where there is a high risk of violence. Most of the research examined focused on two particular avenues for intervention, on which a scientific consensus as to their effectiveness appears to exist. Restrictions on firearm access and ownership, as well as an increased difficulty to buy firearms (e.g. through background checks) have been found to help decrease both firearm possession in at-risk households, as well as generally reduce intimate partner firearm homicides. There are a number of elements that the literature also highlighted as potentially being important in fighting gun violence against women, such as cracking down on illegal access, keeping better track of guns, ensuring the surrender or removal of firearms from high-risk situations, training for the judiciary and other involved state agencies, and more reporting and monitoring mechanisms. Of course, all this must of course be placed within the context of a judiciary and state agencies that are able and willing to correctly implement and enforce this legislation.