Proper and efficient small arms control is important to reduce the flow of illicit arms that contribute to increased crime, violence and conflict within the country. Research has shown that the distribution and use of arms is heavily gendered meaning the impacts of the proliferation differs for men, women, boys and girls; with the victims being mostly women and girls and the offenders being mostly men. International experts on arms have proposed that for successful and sustainable arms management and control, gender dimensions should absolutely be considered. Therefore, in recent years, global small arms and light weapons control are becoming more aligned with the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda as well as the sustainable development goals. Based on this, FOSDA discussed the Gender considerations in small arms and light weapons during the April 2022 Edition of Talk WPS . Our speaker was Mr. Leonard Tettey who is the National Project Coordinator for the cross-border cooperation for the control of illicit trafficking of small arms- A UNDP project in collaboration with National Commission of small arms and light weapons, ECOWAS and GIZ.

The discussions were centered around the mission of the national commission of small arms and light weapons, the arms control mechanisms the country is working with, the information women have around the commission’s work and the issues of small arms proliferation and gender mainstreaming in small arms policies and implementation.

Mr. Tettey posited that education and sensitization are needed to demystify the issues and information surrounding small arms and light weapons, and that men are not the only ones to be considered in everything relating to arms. He said women are important in influencing the environment in which arms are used and controlled especially through policy making. Additionally, he reproofed the type of lip service policy engagement that yields no results and advocated for more clearly written policies that are concrete. Stating that these kinds of concrete policies are what need to be implemented to guide state institutions to involve more women in management processes, disarmament and the general control of small arms and light weapons. Noteworthy of his submissions was his remark on domestic violence; expressing that, it was evident in domestic violence cases in Ghana that women were the most victimized. So, it is only right that the commission is looking to adopt a policy where before a man can own a gun, the views and concerns of his wife will be sought.

To sum up, as the importance of WPS is catching up with key stakeholders, gender-responsive assessments and proper gender-disaggregated data collection in arms proliferation and control is expected to show incremental progress. To make room for more improvement, FOSDA is appealing to the National commission for small arms and light weapons to assess where each process and programme in small arms control stands and to identify steps towards increasing gender responsiveness.