The importance of gender-based violence

It is now common knowledge that gender-based violence is often used deliberately as a tool to carry out and intensify violence. In fact, there are approximately 66,000 victims of gender-based killings of women every year and there is a direct correlation between gender-based killings of women and the use of firearms. Women are not only killed by arms, but are also targeted in crimes such as rape and other forms of sexual violence like trafficking and slavery. In 2009, UN Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-moon said that, “Like a grenade or a gun, sexual violence is a part of the arsenal of parties to armed conflict to pursue military, political, social and economic aims. Beyond the enormous toll on victims, sexual violence in armed conflict hurts recovery and peacebuilding.”

Gender-based violence and the Arms Trade Treaty

If the Arms Trade Treaty is to be an effective legal instrument in regulating the international arms trade, it must include strong references to gender and address risks of gender-based violence and a responsibility to prevent gender-based armed violence.

Many Control Arms members and partners support the inclusion of a criterion on gender-based violence in the ATT. This will require States to ‘not to allow an international transfer of conventional arms where there is a substantial risk that the arms under consideration are likely to be used to perpetrate or facilitate acts of gender-based violence, including rape and other forms of sexual violence’.

Positively the Draft Treaty Text from July 2012 includes two references to gender: The first reference is in the preamble paragraph 11, reminding the states to bear in mind that ‘women and children are particularly affected in situation of conflict and armed violence’. The second reference is in Article 4.6b, and asks states to consider taking feasible measures to avoid the arms ‘being used to commit or facilitate gender-based violence or violence against children. Unfortunately, the term “feasible measures” is not very strong.

During the upcoming Final Conference in March 2012, Control Arms will be advocating for stronger language that will make this criteria binding.

If you want to support a strong Arms Trade Treaty that prevents gender-based violence, then you can help by signing the petition here.

For more information:
www.iansa-women.org
www.amnesty.org
http://www.peacewomen.org/pages/att
http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/news/latest-news/6247-support-a-strong-att-that-helps-prevent-gender-based-armed-violence

These selected resources provide background and analysis on how and why an ATT can promote women’s rights, and help to prevent gender based violence.

The materials have been developed by the Women’s Network of IANSA. IANSA is one of the founders of the Control Arms campaign, and the IANSA Women’s Network is the only international network focused on the connections between gender, women’s rights, small arms and armed violence. IANSA women have been active throughout the campaign raising the issue of women’s rights and gender in relation to the ATT.

Putting Women’s Rights into the Arms Trade Treaty
While international trade in consumer goods is highly regulated, the global trade
in arms takes place in the absence of legally binding, robust and universally
applicable criteria. The United Nations (UN) Diplomatic Conference on the Arms
Trade Treaty in July 2012 provides a historic opportunity to create a global
mechanism to control the arms trade.

The Arms Trade Treaty: An Important Opportunity to Prevent Gender Based Violence at Gunpoint (2012)
During the Diplomatic Conference, IANSA women will build on past successes in the ATT process and our latest position paper, ‘The Arms Trade Treaty: An Important Opportunity to Prevent Gender Based Violence at Gunpoint’ will include why and how the ATT must include measures to prevent gender based violence and sexual violence against women.

Successes at the 3rd ATT PrepCom (2011)
The major achievement of the week was the inclusion of gender-based violence in the preamble of the new draft paper released by Ambassador Moritan, Chair of the PrepCom, on 14 July 2011. After the release of the paper several states, among them Fiji, Saint Lucia, Grenada, Trinidad & Tobago, and Kenya, made very strong arguments to include gender in other areas of the Treaty, including in the principles, goals and objectives, criteria and victim assistance sections.

ATT position paper (2011)
This position paper of the IANSA Women’s Network is being used to support our lobbying and advocacy of delegates at the UN and can also be used in your work with government representatives and elected officials in your countries.

The links between an ATT and UN Security Council Resolutions on women, peace and security (2010)
This matrix describes how the guiding principles of an ATT are directly connected with States’ obligations to implement and strengthen the provisions of UN Security Council Resolutions 1325, 1820, 1888 and 1889.

Women peace and security: The role of an ATT (2009)
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 norms of an ATT with UN Security Resolutions 1325, 1820, 1888, and 1889, and obligations under international human rights and international humanitarian law.

The Impact of Guns on Women’s Lives (2006)
This Control Arms report remains relevant today and looks at the impact on women of guns in the home, in communities and during and after conflict. In each of these contexts, it looks at violence committed with guns against women, the role women play in gun use, and the campaigns women are spearheading against gun violence.