CrimeStats – Guns leading cause murder, attempted murder: Reducing gun availability key to curing SA’s violent crime epidemic
The 2018-19 national crime statistics show that guns are overwhelmingly the weapon used to kill, injure, threaten and intimidate: 47% of murders are due to gunshot (up from 41.3%), which means an additional two people are shot and killed every day compared to a year ago. Minister Cele stressed using “tried and tested methodologies”. Effective gun control is one such […]
Briefing 4 of 2019: Women under the gun – Actions to protect women from gun violence
This past August – which is women’s month – 93 women were shot and killed, an average of three women a day.
To give a face, a name, a story to this number, to this horror, Gun Free South Africa collected information on just 21 women who were shot and killed this year to symbolise the number of women shot […]
Are guns effective for self-defence?
People in SA are scared, and believe that a gun can protect you and your family from criminals.
This is a myth. The evidence overwhelmingly shows that guns are rarely used for self-defence; when a gun is used in self-defence it increases the risk of being shot at, and thus shot, 4 to 5 times. Moreover, a gun is 4 times […]
Briefing 3 of 2019: Halving crime in SA needs effective gun control
Briefing 3 of 2019 was issued on 9 July, which has been declared by the UN as #GunDestructionDay, making it the official date for the destruction of small arms worldwide.
On 9 July, as on every other day, 23 people will be shot and killed across South Africa. The vast majority of these deaths will not be reported on as they […]
Briefing 2 of 2019: Western Cape mortuary surveillance shows gun deaths doubled in 6 years
Firearms Control Briefing 2 of 2019 summarises a comprehensive report Western Cape Injury Mortality Profile: 2010-2016, which tracks the pattern of fatal injuries in the Western Cape over seven years.
The report shows that gun deaths in the province have doubled between 2010 and 2016.
Although dramatic and higher than the national average, the pattern of steadily rising gun deaths in recent […]
Briefing 1 of 2019: How many guns are there in SA? The importance of stockpile management
The first Firearms Control Briefing for 2019 looks at the importance of managing weapons stockpiles as a guarantor of peace, security and development.It argues that stockpile management is broader than securing state-owned weapons and ammunition stocks. Instead it incorporates managing all weapons and ammunition stocks – state and civilian – through five distinct actions:
- Safe storage;
- Scheduled audits;
- Regular collections;
[…]
