Comparing Deaths from Gun Violence in the U.S. with Other Countries
The Commonwealth Fund report Comparing Deaths from Gun Violence in the U.S. with Other Countries demonstrates that the United States experiences disproportionately high rates of firearm mortality compared to both high-income and global peers, ranking in the 93rd percentile overall and even higher for specific groups such as children, adolescents, and women. Firearms are identified […]
Voices of Women: on guns, violence and activism
Voices of Women: On Guns, Violence and Activism examines the deeply gendered impacts of gun violence through the lived experiences of women across El Salvador, Mexico, Nigeria, and South Africa. While men constitute the majority of direct victims of lethal gun violence, the paper demonstrates that women are disproportionately affected in distinct and compounding ways—through […]
Who is killing South African men? A retrospective descriptive study of forensic and police investigations into male homicide
This national study examines who is killing men in South Africa, using linked forensic and police data, and finds that most male homicides are perpetrated by men known to the victim, particularly acquaintances, rather than strangers. Sharp-force injuries are the most common cause of death, with firearms playing a larger role in killings by strangers, […]
The Role Firearms Play in Violence Against Women
This report analyzes the role of firearms in both lethal and non-lethal violence against women in Brazil, drawing on national mortality and health surveillance data from 2012–2022. It finds that firearms are used in roughly half of all female homicides, with young women and Black women disproportionately affected, and highlights that the home is a […]
Framing gun violence at the United Nations: a missed public health opportunity
This report argues that the United Nations has consistently framed gun violence through lenses of disarmament, security, and human rights, while failing to recognize it as a public health crisis with profound health-system, social, and economic consequences. Drawing on AOAV’s analysis of UN bodies including the Security Council, General Assembly, and Human Rights Council, the […]
Gun control: a health issue for which physicians rightfully advocate
This editorial argues that firearm injury is a public health issue squarely within the professional and ethical mandate of physicians, and that advocacy for gun control is a legitimate extension of preventive medicine. Responding to attempts by gun lobby groups to intimidate Canadian physicians, the author contends that clinicians’ direct experience with injury and death […]
Addressing global gun violence: a Lancet Commission on Global Gun Violence and Health
This text announces the launch of the Lancet Commission on Global Gun Violence and Health, framing civilian gun violence as a major, preventable global health crisis responsible for an estimated 600 deaths per day worldwide. The authors highlight how gun violence disproportionately affects young people and marginalized populations, while also undermining social cohesion, economic development, […]
Firearm Injury–a preventable public health issue
This article frames firearm injury as a largely preventable global public health crisis that disproportionately affects adolescents and young adults, particularly in the Americas, and has been sustained by decades of political inaction and insufficient evidence-based policy. Drawing on global epidemiological data, the authors show that firearm mortality is shaped by structural inequalities, access to […]
Bullets as Pathogen–The Need for Public Health and Policy Approaches
This article argues that bullets—not guns—should be treated as the primary agents of harm in firearm violence and addressed using public-health frameworks similar to those applied to infectious diseases, given their measurable lethality and population-level impact. Drawing on case fatality rates, ballistic science, and mass-shooting evidence, the authors show that bullet caliber, velocity, and volume […]
Firearm violence: a neglected “Global Health” issue
Populations around the world are facing an increasing burden of firearm violence on mortality and disability. While firearm violence affects every country globally, the burden is significantly higher in many low- and middle-income countries. However, despite overwhelming statistics, there is a lack of research, reporting, and prioritization of firearm violence as a global public health […]