Over 90 percent of homicides are made by illegal weapons, four women victims during 2018

The victim of such cases is not rarely women, where four women were killed during the past year alone. So said today, on International Women's Day for Peace and Disarmament.

Marta Gazideda, deputy co-ordinator of the programme at the UNDP, said today's message is that women and young girls oppose the violence, which, according to her, are not few of these cases.

We as women as well as girls should reject violence and work for a more just world based on peace, focusing on human rights rather than military ones. In the policy field of disarmament and security, the word gender and its different editors, such as involvement, perspective, awareness or similar, often stirs up reactions, not perhaps as positive, because it is considered that this aspect should be addressed by organs, organizations or troops specialising in gender issues. But this is forgotten, because gender issues are not just for women”, Gazideda said.

Gazideda said the weapons are usually considered a sign of manhood, so even the biggest owners of weapons are men. What he said light weapons are the main instrument of violence.

Deputy Minister of Internal Affairs and the co-ordinator of the strategy for control of small and light arms, Izmi Zeka, said 99 per cent of the killings are done with illegal weapons, where during the past year only four women were victims.

All incidents conducted with firearms are from illegal weapons. According to reports of casualties killed by firearms, it's obviously higher for men, 22 in proportion to four females, but even those who abuse weapons are male... So far they have been confiscated, it's about last year, 1473 firearms, 23 thousand, 900, 41...99 percent of cases, killings that occur in Kosovo, occur by illegal weapons”, Zeka said.

It has appealed to all citizens to apply and weapons to make legal.

Xhemile Behluli, from Kosovo Police, the sector for preventing domestic violence said criminal acts and domestic violence are handled at three levels.

Where, according to her, there has been an increase in the number of cases of domestic violence reporting. Where 1533 cases were reported during the year 2018 alone.

Rosafa Kelmendi, project manager U n NHOMEN, the office in Kosovo, said the threat of small arms to women is linked to current gender inequality.

“The presence of weapons at home actually increases the direct risk of accidents, murder, and suicide for family members. Since they are men and boys who make up most users and even direct victims of small arms, women are influenced by weapons and violence in special ways. And the sacrifice of women is eased through weapons. Weapons are used in almost half of the violent deaths at a global level and approximately 1/3 of the fetuses”, she said.

According to her, small arms are very often in the exercise of domestic violence, as she said is tragic irony, that a man armed with weapons is a protector of the family. Otherwise, every 24 May, on International Women's Day for Peace and Disarmim marks the historical and ongoing role of women in building peace and disarmament.