The conference, Driving Change: Firearms Policy for Safer Societies, was held on 31 March – 1 April 2006 in Durban, South Africa, prior to the 8th World Injury Prevention Conference which started Sunday, 2nd April and concluded on Wednesday, 5th April, 2006.
Here is an URL which carries the banner 'Cost of gun violence in just two countries outweighs entire global gun trade, say experts' which we suggest you monitor as it directly affects global perceptions of firearm ownership here in South Africa : http://www.iansa.org/issues/economic-cost.htm
We include the entire content of the conference statement for your information, wherein we have highlighted certain statements. It can be found at this URL: http://www.smallarmsnet.org/events/2006/precon06statement.pdf [.pdf 23kb]
Conference Statement
Driving Change: Firearms Policy for Safer Societies 31 March – 1 April 2006
The conference, Driving Change: Firearms Policy for Safer Societies, was held on 31 March – 1 April 2006 prior to the 8th World Injury Prevention Conference*. The presentations at the conference reflected the considerable progress made over the past five years to a greater understanding about the prevention and reduction of firearm-related death and injuries (physical and psychological).
The aim of the conference was to examine how accurate and relevant data can assist stakeholders in developing intervention strategies and policies geared towards the prevention and reduction of firearm-related deaths and injuries; and to explore ways in which the social, political and economic environment inhibits or facilitates the effective implementation of policy relating to firearms violence reduction and prevention. Sixty experts from the public health, development, humanitarian, law enforcement, criminal justice, and arms control communities from more than 15 countries were in attendance.
Gun violence is a leading cause of death in many countries, particularly lower and middle income settings. Direct and indirect costs of gun violence are very high and divert resources that societies might otherwise use to address other important problems. Gun violence also destabilises societies, fuels enduring cycles of armed conflict and impacts negatively on the protection and promotion of human rights. Accordingly, gun violence is a major impediment to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
The conference highlighted the significant improvement in the evidence base about gun violence, particularly in medium- and low-income settings, but acknowledged that substantial work is yet to be undertaken, especially at the level of primary prevention of gun violence and generating more comprehensive data collection and analysis.
Evidence from different settings has shown that gun violence is preventable. An important conclusion of the meeting is that a variety of strategies and policies can be pursued to reduce and prevent gun violence. There is no universal approach and the success of reduction and prevention strategies are often context-specific and demand multi-sectoral collaboration.
Health care providers play a pivotal role in reducing and preventing gun injuries and death because of their experience of the impact of gun violence. Health care providers not only treat victims of gun violence, but tend to be viewed as trusted professionals and are able to take action to prevent gun injury and death through the counselling of survivors, and educating the communities in which they work. The health sector is also in a position to provide critical information to key stakeholders and policy-makers about the extent and impact of gun violence, the risk factors and the options for effective policies and interventions.
The public health community has a particular responsibility to contribute to shaping global action on reducing and preventing gun violence within the framework of multi-sectoral partnerships. Public health professionals can draw on their experience with other public health issues to ensure that realistic and effective strategies to reduce and prevent gun violence are developed. Many public health professionals are trained to work at the community level, and in this regard can act as a bridge between grass roots organisations and policy makers. Public health researchers, including epidemiologists, have the skills to develop data collection and surveillance systems with respect to firearms injuries and deaths, as well as provide analyses of this data with a view to influencing the formulation and implementation of strategies and policies relating to the reduction and prevention of gun violence.
The development assistance community also has numerous opportunities to provide technical expertise, support and funding to the formulation and implementation of policies that will have a constructive impact on the various risk factors that contribute to firearms injuries and death. Many of the primary prevention interventions to reduce gun violence, such as regulating access to, and the manufacturing of firearms, providing incentives for school completion among high risk youth and children, social development programmes, and many others are amenable to being addressed through development assistance programming.
The conference participants reaffirmed the importance of gun violence as a key global health issue that with action, resources and partnerships, can be reduced and prevented.
* The conference was hosted by the Institute for Security Studies in collaboration with IPPNW (International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War) and IANSA (the International Action Network on Small Arms). Principal funding for the conference was provided by the CWCI Fund of the European Union. For more information, copies of the papers or biographies of speakers, please email precon2006@issafrica.org or contact:
Anthea Lawson +44(0) 7900 242 869
Adèle Kirsten +27 (0) 82 853 9776
Noel Stott +27 (0) 82 828 6070
Doug Tuttle +27 (0) 76 659 4376
