An international coalition is urging the World Health Organization to strengthen efforts to prevent firearm-related femicides, warning that guns remain overlooked in policies addressing violence against women. (Foto: Instagram)
An international coalition is calling on the World Health Organization (WHO) to take stronger action to prevent firearm-related femicides, saying guns remain overlooked in global policies and guidance on violence against women. The call was made in a study released Tuesday, Nov. 10.
The report, “Firearms: A Critical Gap in Global Efforts to Address Violence Against Women and Femicide,” was coordinated by the Global Coalition for WHO Action on Armed Violence. The group includes several international organizations, among them Brazil’s Instituto Sou da Paz. Drawing on data from Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and Balkan countries, the study says firearms increase the lethality of gender-based violence, heighten threats and make it harder for victims to leave abusive relationships.
In Brazil, 1,571 femicide cases were recorded in the previous year, according to the 20th Brazilian Public Security Yearbook, published by the Brazilian Forum on Public Security. That figure was 4% higher than the number of deaths identified in 2024. Of the victims, 62.6% were Black women, and 66.3% of the crimes took place in the victim’s home. The perpetrators were current partners in 59.4% of cases and former partners in 21.3%.
Estimates cited in the report indicate that the presence of a firearm increases the likelihood that domestic violence will become fatal by more than fivefold. One in eight men convicted in such cases reportedly said he had used a gun to threaten his partner. A recent study by Instituto Sou da Paz found that firearms were used to kill 47% of women murdered in Brazil in 2024. From 2020 through 2024, an average of 1,877 women a year were killed by gunfire in the country, or about five per day.
The report also describes firearm violence that does not result in homicide. It cites 4,400 reports of gun-related violence against women in Brazil in 2024, involving threats, intimidation and efforts to control victims’ lives. The coalition says authorities worldwide give insufficient attention to firearms in guidance on preventing gender-based violence. For example, case-monitoring guidelines may record the ages and genders of perpetrators and their relationships to victims without noting what type of weapon was used.
The coalition is urging the WHO to develop stronger standards and guidance to help prevent these crimes. Carolina Ricardo, executive director of Instituto Sou da Paz, said the world has made progress in recognizing violence against women as a public health issue but has paid too little attention to the role of firearms. She said that when gun-related risks are absent from care protocols, information systems and prevention strategies, opportunities to prevent deaths are lost. The WHO, she added, can help countries include that risk in policies to protect women.
