Resources / Publications

This publication features 16 testimonies acquired by IANSA of women survivors of gun violence. The testimonies are from a number of different countries and the violence occurs in various contexts and situations. The one common denominator in all of these stories is the misuse of guns. Although men represent the majority of victims of death […]

Common international standards in the ATT should require States to establish and maintain effective national regulatory mechanisms. The ATT should also require States to licence or otherwise authorise exports and other international transfers of conventional weaponry, munitions and related equipment (“conventional arms”) in conformity with an agreed list of clear criteria that take into account […]

This document outlines recommendations that would strengthen areas of the Arms Trade  Treaty that have the potential to control and reduce the proliferation of small arms and light weapons and related ammunition. The inclusion of these recommendation is vital if the Arms Trade Treaty is to be effective in saving lives and reducing serious injury […]

For some, answers to the question “why women?” in the area of small arms control may seem obvious or straightforward. However, events such as negotiations on General Assembly Resolution 65/69, show that perhaps the multitude of answers to this question can be easily overlooked if women and women’s advocates don’t make them abundantly clear. Such […]

Violence against women is rooted in discrimination. It occurs across borders, religions and class. This is because it has been condoned through cultural practices. This paper, by Amnesty International, IANSA, and Oxfam, argues that violence against women in the family and violence through state repression or conflict are similar. The latter is an extreme manifestation […]

Direct and indirect impacts of small arms on women in the Middle East include armed domestic violence and “crimes committed in the name of honour”, as well as long term social, economic and psychological effects of revenge killings between male family members, tribal vendettas and celebratory shootings resulting in death and serious injury. Women who […]

Two significant initiatives on ‘security’ were taken by the United Nations (UN) around the time of the Millennium, one following quickly on the other. The first was UN Security Council Resolution (SCR) 1325 concerned with women in relation to peace and security. The other was The UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate […]

The majority of men do not own or use guns: gun use must therefore be understood as a choice. A combination of social, economic and political factors combine to create the notion that gun violence is a legitimate option for a man. This paper examine how constructions of masculinities and fepmininites work to legitimate the […]

This briefing paper argues that global standards for the international import, export and transfer of conventional arms and ammunition should prohibit transfers where there is a significant risk that the transfer will be in used to violate women’s human rights or perpetuate a pattern of gender-based violence. It argues that international law demands linking the […]

A thousand people die every day by gunshots, and three times as many are severely injured. If the death, injury and disability resulting from small arms were categorized as a disease, we would view it as an epidemic. As a man-made vector of injury, guns are manifestly bad for human health. No country is immune.