As part of the lecture series “New Views, Perspectives and Research on Gender Theory”, the Study Research Group for Gender Equality and Public Policy of the Institute of Social Sciences organized the online lecture “The Gender Dimension of Misuse of Firearms in a Family Context” on 20 October 2021. The lecture was held by Dr. Sanja Ćopić, a Senior Research Associate in the Institute of Criminological and Sociological Research in Belgrade, and Dr. Mirjana Dokmanović, a Research Associate in the Institute of Social Sciences in Belgrade.
Dr. Ćopić and Dr. Dokmanović have contributed a large-scale international research Project TARGET on gun violence in Europe as the researchers of the Victimology Society of Serbia. They presented parts of the findings of the research that related to gender dimension of misuse of firearms in a family context in Serbia. The observed period was from 2015 to 2019. The analysis confirms general trends that firearm-related violence is generally a ‘male’ phenomenon. Men prevail as both perpetrators (94.7%) and victims (82.4%) of homicides committed with a firearm. However, when it comes to the family context, men still present a majority of perpetrators, but most victims of family homicides are women. In the observed period 249 persons were killed in the family context. Family homicides are highly gendered: almost two third of victims were women . Out of the total number of family homicides, 66 were committed by a firearm; majority of victims (69.7%) were women, too. Probability of lethal outcome due to the use of firearms is three times higher in the family than in the criminal context. Access to a firearm by abusers presents a high risk that the firearm will be misused.
Albeit legal reforms and institutional framework for suppressing domestic, the incidence of firearm-related homicides in the family context remains stable, including femicides, which reflects global trends as well. It is important to consider these differences more broadly. Diverse factors affect male-to-male homicides, on one hand, and femicides in the family context, on the other – the later results from persistent social and gender norms that produce and support gender inequalities and discrimination and impact overall status of women in the society. It is of crucial importance to strengthen capacities of relevant institutions for coordinated work, implementation of norms and timely, effective and efficient response to domestic violence cases. Legislation should be improved by including protection measures and a criminal procedure against a perpetrator among grounds of refusal to issue a permit to obtain a gun. The other recommendations include fostering changes in attitudes to gender roles, eliminating gender stereotypes and promoting zero tolerance towards violence, improving programs for perpetrators, and actively engage men in programs of prevention and suppression of intimate and family violence.
