According to a report released on 22 March 2010 by the autonomous Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) firearms were used in 48% of honour killings in 2009 (534 of 1115 incidents).

Experts on violence against women discussed the methodological challenges and the state of research on the costs, consequences and manifestation of gender violence during a workshop organised by the Geneva Declaration on Armed Violence and Development, 25-26 March 2010.

Many villagers hardly know who is attacking them in an IDP camp of Kitchanga, 5 km – or four hours by road – north of provincial capital, Goma. There are two camps in the Kitchanga area. One has an estimated 25,000 displaced people, while the other has 18,000. And the numbers are growing. "Both sides have guns. There are still weapons everywhere and it's hard to know who is attacking." Another man reports that the army has issued guns to a 'local defence' person in each village – but the rebels simply killed them and took the weapons. He says, "It's unbelievable that the army gave us guns instead of defending us." Soldiers on all sides use sexual violence as a weapon.

Under the leadership of Femmes Africa Solidarité (FAS), a Pan-African organisation based in Dakar, Senegal, a Solidarity Mission was organised in support of the women of Guinea, particularly the victims of the 28th September 2009 crisis.

“Last year, 53 individuals died as a result of domestic violence in Maryland and, of those, 27 were killed with a firearm. Programs funded through the STOP program help us ensure that women throughout Maryland feel safe and secure." Governor Martin O’Malley

For more than 3,500 civil society representatives and hundreds of government delegates who traveled to New York for this year’s Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), it was an occasion to mark large and small victories over the last 15 years and to focus on the challenges that remain.

An online resource in English, French and Spanish, designed to serve the needs of policymakers, programme implementers and other practitioners dedicated to addressing violence against women and girls.

The OSCE has launched the first issue of The Gender Monitor, an e-newsletter which provides a comprehensive overview of gender-related updates from within the OSCE, but also resources and news on events taking place throughout the OSCE region. It places a special focus on the accomplishments of OSCE field operations and their concrete efforts in implementing the 2004 Action Plan on Gender Equality.

When someone we care for dies a tragic and preventable death, those of us left behind are bound to spend countless hours pondering the “whys” and the “what-ifs.” Eight years ago, when my sister-in-law was murdered in front of her two children, we as her family were nearly crushed under the weight of the burden of such questions.