Firearms and IPV: Asking the Tough Questions about Firearms to Advance Women’s Rights

Overview: Males commit most IPV homicides against women using firearms. Most social workers do not assess firearm access or safety, even though it would equip them to create better safety plans for their clients, themselves, their agencies, or invoke an Extreme Risk Protection Order. Firearm safety is a Women’s rights issue.Proposal text: Two public health crises are co-occurring in the U.S.; Intimate partner violence and firearm violence. Unfortunately, these crises overlap and magnify each other. Women in the U.S are 21 times more likely to be killed with a firearm than other developed nations and victims of DV are five times more likely to be killed when the abuser has access to a firearm (Giffords.org, 2022). Eighty percent of perpetrators of IPV homicide are males and most victims are women, in addition, 56% of DV homicides occur from firearms (Price & Payton, 2016). Meanwhile, there has been a 65% increase in firearm purchases during the Covid pandemic (Levine & McKnight, 2020). Firearms in the home increase the risk for homicide by 170% and more than half of firearm owners admit to keeping their gun unlocked and loaded (Wintemute, 2008). These factors place vulnerable women at even greater risk.
Firearms in the home and their storage are two vital areas which impact our clients’ health and safety. Understanding our clients’ lethality and risk is also vital to know for social workers’ own safety as well as the safety of those working in your organization. Clinicians can have a direct influence on firearm safety for women by addressing firearm access and storage in their client assessments and providing safe firearm storage information or referrals. Yet, most are not routinely asking about access and/or storage of firearms (Slovak, et al., 2008).
Early research suggests brief assessment and safety information provision to be helpful in reducing firearm injuries and death (Crifasi, et al., 2018). Monuteaux, et al., (2019) indicated that storing household firearms which were unloaded or locked was associated with a 70% reduction in unintentional injuries and 73% reduction of self-inflicted injuries. Clients are open to hearing this information from Clinicians, and service providers (Slovak, et al., 2008). Most clinicians are not having these critical conversations because they are not familiar with gun culture or terminology and have not been educated about these issues during their social work programs (Slovak, et al., 2008).
If clinicians ask IPV victims and offenders about their firearm access and storage, they would be better equipped to create safety plans for their clients, themselves and their agencies or invoke an Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO). NASW advises social workers to learn about firearm culture, safe storage and (ERPO) and then ask clients about their firearm ownership and safety behaviors (Lanyi, Gonzales, & Wilson, 2019). This information needs to be taught to social work students to effectively have conversations with clients, formulate plans to protect themselves and others at their organization and advocate for human and notably women’s rights. This matches the CSWE EPAS, competency 2 focusing on advancing Human Rights (CSWE.org, 2022).
This presentation will provide participants with current demographics regarding IPV and firearms, how to assess firearm access, storage and safety information, and better understand ERPOs. Firearm violence is an escalating public health and women’s rights’ disaster which social workers can directly influence by assessing and educating clients.