(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
At the end of January, another Norwegian woman was shot and killed by her boyfriend. With the murder outside Slettaelva school in Tromsø, 80 women have been killed by partners or former partners since the turn of the millennium. Weapons are increasingly used in connection with threats and violence against women, and firearms are used in about a third of partner killings.
- Access to firearms increases the risk of partner killing. Weapons that are legally purchased, such as for hunting, can be used not only to kill, but also to threaten a partner or former partners, says Sarah Masters, who is the coordinator of the International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA). ) which works against the proliferation and misuse of weapons. In Norway, there are more than 1,3 million firearms distributed on just under 500 firearms cards.
The Network Masters is the coordinator of, is now working on a campaign to bring international focus to the problem of weapons and violence against women, and to get more countries to harmonize the legislation so that practitioners of domestic violence cannot access weapons.
In Norway, the police are assessing weapons applications by checking vandalism in police records. A conviction for violence is one reason not to get permission. According to Bjørn Vandvik police inspector in Oslo Police District, violent reports or registration of police being called out after violence report from partner can also affect whether a person gets a weapons permit. Here, the weapons office makes a specific case-by-case assessment. Partner, on the other hand, is not consulted.
- In many cases, the man who kills his woman has previously resorted to violence or threats, but without a report or verdict. We therefore believe that the history of violence should be taken into account – for example, whether the police have moved out after a report of violence or threats from a partner – when the police issue a firearms permit, Masters tells Ny Tid.
She questions whether the Norwegian Arms Act and the police's case-by-case assessments are good enough to protect Norwegian women.
Therefore, IANSA believes that a partner and possibly former partners should be consulted when the police receive a weapons application from a person to find out if she is concerned about the man obtaining a weapons permit. Masters believes that Norway, along with most other countries, has a lack of legislation in this area.
- In Canada, on the other hand, they have such a scheme. It is not the case that the partner can automatically prevent a firearms permit, but if the partner is concerned, the police will look more closely at the application, says Masters and emphasizes that it is also important that the woman in such a situation at least becomes aware that the partner acquires firearms .
Can learn from other countries
Today, there are four countries in the world – Australia, Canada, South Africa and Trinidad and Tobago – which, according to IANSA, have harmonized legislation on gun licenses and violence in close relationships. This means that domestic violence is mentioned in the Firearms Act and weapons are mentioned in legislation related to domestic violence.
- When I found out that Trinidad and Tobago had done so, while no country in Europe has harmonized laws in this area, I was quite shocked, says Masters.
In Australia, weapons are removed from persons convicted of domestic violence, but also if a report is submitted on such matters. The same is true in South Africa. In Canada, reports of intimate partner violence automatically trigger a review of firearms licenses, and both current and former partners or spouses are consulted in connection with firearms license applications.
- These proposals will not be very suspicious. Besides, can people change their behavior?
- If you have used violence before, you should simply not be allowed to carry a weapon. In both Canada and Australia, there has been a decline in the number of partner killings of women with firearms, says Masters.
Statistics from the Australian National Criminology Institute show that the number of women killed with firearms was halved in the first five years after the new legislation was introduced in 1996.
Supported by Norwegian women
Tove Smaadahl is the leader of the Crisis Center Secretariat, which has 38 shelters throughout the country.
She supports IANSA's proposals.
- We clearly stand behind such a proposal that can help reduce partner killings by people who should not have had weapons, not getting permission, says Smaadahl.
She believes it is a point that the police check with a reference person when they give a firearm permit, and if you were previously convicted of threats, violence or other criminal acts, you should not have weapons.
- Of the 72 killed women that VG made an overview of in 2007, 37 percent were killed with a knife, while 28 percent were killed with firearms, says Smaadahl and adds that there are many indications that gun use is a growing problem and makes the threat to women even greater. more serious.
- It is important that we look at what kind of legislation other countries have to protect women. If they can document a decrease in the murder of women after introducing such a scheme, it is clearly something we can learn from, says Smaadahl.
She points out, however, that IANSA does not discuss the issue related to whether those who have weapons are in mental imbalance. Studies from Sweden show that a large proportion of men who kill their wives or former partners are mentally ill or in mental imbalance.
- It is not the weapons that kill, but the people, says Smaadahl.
Former police superintendent Finn Abrahamsen also considers it a good idea that the police consult their immediate family in connection with the granting of weapons permits.
- Carrying a weapon is not a human right, and it can therefore be a good idea if the authorities decide to talk to their immediate family. The police do not know what is going on in a relationship, says Abrahamsen, who previously led the violence section in the Oslo police district.
He does not think it will be a big job for the police to do this, while at the same time providing important information about the firearm seeker, for example, being outlawed or having alcohol problems and thus being unfit to carry weapons. Abrahamsen also thinks the police should sharpen up when it comes to monitoring family violence and weapons permits.
- When the police receive a domestic violence case, it should automatically be investigated whether there are weapons in the house and then they should be confiscated, at least for a period, the former police superintendent believes.
However, the most serious thing today is that health professionals have no duty to send a message of concern to the police about the mentally ill who have weapons, Abrahamsen believes. He thinks it's strange that getting a driver's license is easier than guns.
- It is mentally unstable that most murders happen. In Norway today, we are so concerned about the duty of confidentiality that the safety of people is instead in danger, says Abrahamsen. He has previously received criticism from both psychiatrists and shooting clubs for his position.
On January 26, a mapping of partner killings and identification of risk factors was initiated. Based on this survey, the government believes that it will be appropriate to take a closer look at IANSA's proposals.
- Conversations with a partner in connection with weapons applications are one of the things it is natural to look at. Even though we experience the requirements for obtaining weapons today as strict, it may still be that we have to look at other methods to ensure that the weapons applicants meet the requirements, says State Secretary in the Ministry of Justice and Police Astri Aas-Hansen to Ny Tid.
