Up Close and Personal: Lessons Learned from a Municipal Disarmament Operation in Pehuajó, Argentina
By Juan Francisco Martos and Romina Guilarducci with Callum Watson
In 2023, one in five femicides in Argentina were committed with a firearm; the vast majority by current or former intimate partners, as well as other family members. Previous Small Arms Survey blog posts have highlighted the importance of ensuring that alleged perpetrators of gender-based violence (GBV) are prevented from legally acquiring weapons, and that courts make full use of protection measures that allow them to seize firearms from anyone accused of GBV. Studies from countries outside of Argentina have suggested that the risk of domestic violence escalating to femicide may increase by as much as eight times if the perpetrator has access to a firearm. Most state mitigation efforts aimed at ensuring responsible civilian firearms ownership can only be applied in cases where the weapons are registered and owners are licensed, but some estimates suggest that there may be as many as 1.6 million unregistered firearms in Argentina. Therefore, civilian disarmament programmes also play a key role in overall GBV prevention, as well as gender-responsive arms control and reduction efforts. This blog will draw from the authors’ first-hand experience working on a disarmament campaign in the city of Pehuajó, Province of Buenos Aires, to identify good practices in gender-responsive civilian disarmament, which can inform efforts elsewhere.
Firearms impacts and firearms ownership: gendered phenomena
In 2023, there were 250 recorded femicides in Argentina, which amounts to one every 35 hours. Of these, 75% were committed in the context of domestic violence and 21% were committed with a firearm. It is likely, however, that a much greater number of non-lethal acts of GBV were committed by armed perpetrators using the threat of lethal violence, and that most of these cases went unreported.
In addition to the gendered impact of firearm violence, firearms ownership is also highly gendered: in Argentina, 97% of registered firearms owners are men. Moreover, according to the 2018–2020 report on the Voluntary Firearms Surrender Programme (Programa de Entrega Voluntaria de Armas de Fuego), more than 70% of those who surrender weapons and ammunition are men, but around 2 out of 10 of these men said that a woman in their social sphere influenced their decision to participate in the programme. This phenomenon suggests that even though, globally, public political discussions and policy debates on firearms tend to be dominated by men, women can have a significant influence on the men around them.
In the context of the perceived risk associated with firearms possession, the data also shows a notable gender difference. More than 7 out of 10 women said that they would feel at risk if they possessed a firearm, perhaps in recognition of the potential risks that firearms in the home pose to the physical and emotional safety of their families, as well as to themselves, especially in the context of domestic violence. Conversely, for men, this number drops to 4 out of 10. Even more noteworthy is the fact that despite stereotypical narratives that men acquire weapons for protection, only 1 in 10 men reported actually feeling protected by owning a weapon, while a far larger proportion (4 in 10) felt indifferent.
As we will discuss in the following section, these considerations may be a motivating factor for those women who choose to support disarmament programmes, and why it is therefore important that public institutions make efforts to engage with diverse groups of women and men in planning, implementing, and evaluating civilian disarmament programmes.
Self-reliant and isolated: the particular case of Pehuajó
Situated in the predominantly agricultural Pampa region, Pehuajó’s rural populations can be quite isolated, especially when it comes to those without access to private vehicles, as they are often spread out over wide areas with limited public transport links. In these self-reliant communities, civilian firearm ownership has become normalised, mainly for the protection of livestock and property, as well as for recreational activities such as hunting. A lack of adequate training combined with lax attitudes towards firearms handling, however, have resulted in both accidents and a tendency to resort to weapons during interpersonal conflicts, including domestic violence.
Moreover, Pehuajó has experienced episodes of armed violence in the last five years. Effective responses require coordinated efforts between the police, prosecutors, and the Ministries of Justice and Security, which can be challenging due to Argentina’s multilayered system of local government (Pehaujó is just one of the 135 partidos (districts) in the Province of Buenos Aires, which has over 17 million inhabitants). Police forces have historically lacked clear instructions on how to apply procedures when confiscating weapons, resulting in delays in response and action. The National Agency for Controlled Materials (ANMaC) has been working to clarify these procedures and facilitate coordination between the relevant national and provincial authorities.
Communication and community: a connection-based approach to disarmament
The disarmament operation in Pehuajó, which took place from 17 to 20 April 2023 within the framework of the National Programme for the Voluntary Surrender of Firearms and Ammunition (PEVAF), sought to tackle some of the issues outlined in the previous paragraph. ANMaC, which coordinated the operation, made efforts to work closely not only with local security institutions, but also those in a variety of other sectors related to education and social welfare.
Operations related to the PEVAF programme, which began in 2007, are routinely communicated through newspapers, television, radio, and on social media. What was different in this case, however, was that ANMaC made concerted efforts through tailored workshops to reach social workers in primary healthcare and community integration centres, especially those in neighbourhoods with higher structural risk factors such as low levels of socio-economic development and poor infrastructure.
Since social workers, who are predominantly women, generally have little access to specific training on firearms, those designing and implementing disarmament programmes may not initially foresee a role for them. Many social workers, however, have first-hand experience of violence, as well as the structural conditions that perpetuate it. In addition, in accordance with Argentina’s ‘Micaela Law’, they receive training on gender and violence against women, which provides them with tools to engage sensitively and effectively with families where firearms are present, and to assess the risk of these weapons being used to commit acts of violence.
In the month leading up to the campaign, social workers systematically mentioned the disarmament programme when people approached their centres to receive food, clothing, building materials, healthcare, or employment. These messages were then reinforced by television and radio interviews given by the then director of ANMaC, which outlined the risks of having guns in the home.
Therefore, at the heart of the Pehuajó campaign was a comprehensive communications strategy, which provided details on how to surrender a weapon and collect financial compensation safely and anonymously, emphasizing that no police or local government officials would be present. It also reiterated that those surrendering weapons could watch as the firearms were disabled immediately. This measure aimed to reassure participants that their arms would not be diverted back into the community.
During the campaign, 65 firearms, 496 rounds of ammunition, and 19 other unauthorized items (such as firearms components or other types of arms) were received. While this number might be seen as relatively small, this was one of ANMaC’s most successful campaigns on a per capita basis given Pehuajó’s modest size.
Findings and recommendations: a roadmap for the future
Proactive efforts from the mayor of Pehuajó to coordinate the work of local and national authorities in implementing the disarmament programme, as well as local media campaigns, financial incentives, channels to surrender weapons anonymously, and the immediate deactivation of weapons, were all foundational to the success of this campaign. What made this particular campaign stand out, however, was the targeted engagement with and mobilization of social workers who were uniquely placed to effectively convey to families the benefits of surrendering their weapons.
Moving forward, civilian disarmament programmes could consider the following:
First, ensure strong collaboration with social workers, community leaders, and other civil society organizations who have context-specific expertise on armed violence and its structural drivers, as well as the skills to identify and engage those in the community who own firearms.
Second, partner disarmament programmes with a holistic communications strategy designed to reach diverse audiences. This should go beyond traditional media and printed materials to include educational workshops and lectures in schools, community centres, and other civic spaces on violence prevention and the importance of disarmament. Future work could leverage digital media to directly engage a younger and more technologically connected audience in evidence-based policy discussions that will impact their future. There may also be value in designing specific campaigns aimed at addressing the structural drivers and gender norms that lead men to acquire weapons.
Third, extend disarmament operations to both rural and urban locations, based on a detailed analysis of violence and firearms possession data. Although disarmament programmes often target urban violence in high density areas, there can also be armed violence hotspots in isolated rural communities.
Fourth and finally, conduct regular evaluations of the operations in terms of quantitative data, and complement this with qualitative research that analyses the experiences of both the participants and the community at large in order to continuously improve the strategies and methods used.
This blog post was produced within the framework of the Gender and Small Arms Project, which is co-financed by Germany and Switzerland.
Blog posts are intended as a way for various Small Arms Survey collaborators and researchers to discuss small arms- and armed violence-related issues, and do not necessarily reflect the views of either the Small Arms Survey or its donors.
