WUNRN
Direct Link to Research Report:
Firearms Possession & Domestic Violence in the Western
Balkans:
Comparative
Study of Legislation & Implementation Mechanisms
This Study refers to Albania, Bosnia
& Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, Serbia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia, & Kosovo.
SEESAC - South Eastern & Eastern
Europe Clearinghouse for the Control of Small Arms & Light Weapons
2007
"The countries of the Western
Balkans face high levels of violence, crime and human insecurity as a legacy of
recent conflicts, political turbulence and economic crises.
Available data from existing
research suggest that domestic violence is the most widespread form of violence
throughout the region, and that women are the primary victims.
Largely as a result of the advocacy
of women's NGO's, governments in the region have made progress in recent years
in developing specific legislation against domestic violence, introducing legal
measures and penalizing it ex officio.
However, full enforcement of the
legislation is hindered by gaps between legal provisions and their
implementation, a lack of comprehensive policies addressing domestic violence,
insufficient institutional development and a lack of budgetary allocations for
national strategies in this field.
There is also a lack of
comprehensive and coordinated data collection, research and monitoring, which
undermines the development of effective policies.
In a post-conflict situation, the
response to domestic violence must address the issue of SALW - Small Arms and
Light Weapons control in policies, strategies and measures aimed at prevention
and protection of victims. However, in the Western Balkans, firearms as a risk
factor in domestic violence and linkages with the proliferation of Small Arms
and Light Weapons, have not been explicitly recognised by either governments
or, for the most part, civil society, until now."
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