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#MilitarisedMasculinities #FeministPeace #Firearm

Selling Guns, Exploiting Gender: Holding Firearm Manufacturers Accountable

This is the 9th episode of the Mobilising Men for Feminist Peace podcast. In this episode, we expose the troubling strategies used by the gun industry to promote firearms to young people.

Image credit: WILPF
  • 20 min
WILPF International Secretariat
12 November 2024

“It is not hunting culture. It is not personal protection culture. It is not safety culture. It is killing culture.” – Nicole Hockley

Every day in America, 12 children die from gun violence, and another 32 are injured. These alarming statistics are fueled by exploitative marketing by gun manufacturers, who increasingly target children and men through video games, social media, and other channels. The ripple effect of U.S. gun culture and powerful lobbying groups reaches far beyond its borders, influencing policies and fueling gun violence globally, particularly through firearm trafficking.

In this episode, we expose the troubling strategies used by the gun industry to promote firearms to young people. We hear from leading experts involved in legal cases and gun control advocacy, including a mother who tragically lost her child in a school shooting. We also explore potential advocacy and regulatory solutions to curb harmful marketing practices, and consider lessons from countries like Brazil, with regard to efforts in curbing gun acquisition and exploitative gun industry marketing through strategic litigation and public policy reforms.

Our guests are:

In this episode, we learned:

  • The successful challenges against gun manufacturers in the U.S. demonstrate that accountability is possible, offering hope for advocates seeking to reform the industry and promote safer practices.
  • There are lessons to be learnt from Brazil – whose implementation of tougher firearms regulations has led to a notable decrease in gun-related deaths. 
  • And tech companies and gun manufacturers must collaborate with authorities to address gun-related violence. 

Your hosts are: 

  • Dean Peacock, Project Director of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom’s initiative on men and militarism
  • Tessa Cerisier, Human Rights Programme Senior Advisor at WILPF 

The Mobilising Men for Feminist Peace is a podcast from the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) in which we uncover the transformative power of feminist peace and explore how men can be active proponents of achieving gender equality and peace. 

For more resources and information, visit wilpf.org and the Mobilising Men for Feminist Peace project page here.

In this clip, Jonathan Lowy shares that local, regional and international litigation supports holding the US accountable on fire arm control.
In this clip, Nicole Hockley of Sandy Hook Promise tells us about product placement in video games and how it is used to market weapons.
In this clip, Natália Pollachi talks to us about the rise of gun culture in Brazil and fear was mobilised. 

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WILPF International Secretariat

WILPF International Secretariat, with offices in Geneva and New York, liaises with the International Board and the National Sections and Groups for the implementation of WILPF International Programme, resolutions and policies as adopted by the International Congress. Under the direction of the Secretary-General, the Secretariat also provides support in areas of advocacy, communications, and financial operations.

Berit Aasen

Europe Alternate Regional Representative

Berit Aasen is a sociologist by training and has worked at the OsloMet Metropolitan University on Oslo. She has 40 years of experience in research and consultancy in development studies, including women, peace, and security, and in later years in asylum and refugee studies. Berit Aasen joined WILPF Norway five years ago. She is an alternate member of the National Board of WILPF Norway, and representing WILPF Norway in the UN Association of Norway, the Norwegian 1325 network and the Norwegian Women’s Lobby. Berit Aasen has been active in the WILPF European Liaison group and is committed to strengthening WILPF sections and membership both in Europe and relations across continents.

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Melissa Torres

VICE-PRESIDENT

Prior to being elected Vice-President, Melissa Torres was the WILPF US International Board Member from 2015 to 2018. Melissa joined WILPF in 2011 when she was selected as a Delegate to the Commission on the Status of Women as part of the WILPF US’ Practicum in Advocacy Programme at the United Nations, which she later led. She holds a PhD in Social Work and is a professor and Global Health Scholar at Baylor College of Medicine and research lead at BCM Anti-Human Trafficking Program. Of Mexican descent and a native of the US/Mexico border, Melissa is mostly concerned with the protection of displaced Latinxs in the Americas. Her work includes training, research, and service provision with the American Red Cross, the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Centre, and refugee resettlement programs in the U.S. Some of her goals as Vice-President are to highlight intersectionality and increase diversity by fostering inclusive spaces for mentorship and leadership. She also contributes to WILPF’s emerging work on the topic of displacement and migration.

Jamila Afghani

VICE-PRESIDENT

Jamila Afghani is the President of WILPF Afghanistan which she started in 2015. She is also an active member and founder of several organisations including the Noor Educational and Capacity Development Organisation (NECDO). Elected in 2018 as South Asia Regional Representative to WILPF’s International Board, WILPF benefits from Jamila’s work experience in education, migration, gender, including gender-based violence and democratic governance in post-conflict and transitional countries.

Sylvie Jacqueline Ndongmo

PRESIDENT

Sylvie Jacqueline NDONGMO is a human rights and peace leader with over 27 years experience including ten within WILPF. She has a multi-disciplinary background with a track record of multiple socio-economic development projects implemented to improve policies, practices and peace-oriented actions. Sylvie is the founder of WILPF Cameroon and was the Section’s president until 2022. She co-coordinated the African Working Group before her election as Africa Representative to WILPF’s International Board in 2018. A teacher by profession and an African Union Trainer in peace support operations, Sylvie has extensive experience advocating for the political and social rights of women in Africa and worldwide.

WILPF Afghanistan

In response to the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban and its targeted attacks on civil society members, WILPF Afghanistan issued several statements calling on the international community to stand in solidarity with Afghan people and ensure that their rights be upheld, including access to aid. The Section also published 100 Untold Stories of War and Peace, a compilation of true stories that highlight the effects of war and militarisation on the region. 

IPB Congress Barcelona

WILPF Germany (+Young WILPF network), WILPF Spain and MENA Regional Representative

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Demilitarisation

WILPF uses feminist analysis to argue that militarisation is a counter-productive and ill-conceived response to establishing security in the world. The more society becomes militarised, the more violence and injustice are likely to grow locally and worldwide.

Sixteen states are believed to have supplied weapons to Afghanistan from 2001 to 2020 with the US supplying 74 % of weapons, followed by Russia. Much of this equipment was left behind by the US military and is being used to inflate Taliban’s arsenal. WILPF is calling for better oversight on arms movement, for compensating affected Afghan people and for an end to all militarised systems.

Militarised masculinity

Mobilising men and boys around feminist peace has been one way of deconstructing and redefining masculinities. WILPF shares a feminist analysis on the links between militarism, masculinities, peace and security. We explore opportunities for strengthening activists’ action to build equal partnerships among women and men for gender equality.

WILPF has been working on challenging the prevailing notion of masculinity based on men’s physical and social superiority to, and dominance of, women in Afghanistan. It recognizes that these notions are not representative of all Afghan men, contrary to the publicly prevailing notion.

Feminist peace​

In WILPF’s view, any process towards establishing peace that has not been partly designed by women remains deficient. Beyond bringing perspectives that encapsulate the views of half of the society and unlike the men only designed processes, women’s true and meaningful participation allows the situation to improve.

In Afghanistan, WILPF has been demanding that women occupy the front seats at the negotiating tables. The experience of the past 20 has shown that women’s presence produces more sustainable solutions when they are empowered and enabled to play a role.