Living With Armed Violence

A Community Level Study

Families in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador are exposed to high levels of crime, violence and gang culture and the region suffers some of the highest homicide rates in the world. Illegal firearms are widely available, with demand driven by high levels of perceived insecurity, weak gun control and failings in disarmament following the countries' civil wars.

With support from Switzerland, HALO commissioned a community level study to understand how vulnerable communities are affected by the misuse of small arms in Central America's Northern Triangle—Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.

The aim of the study was to inform a needs and rights based approach for future violence reduction and prevention initiatives in the region. The research was based on group discussions with women, children, families and young people living in communities affected by high levels of violence. This was supported by interviews with relevant actors, including security forces, community leaders, NGOs, social workers and policy-makers.

On 9th July 2020, HALO hosted a webinar to discuss the trends and possible solutions to armed violence in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras. We were delighted to be joined by panellists Sofia Martínez, Research Consultant and author of the report ‘Living with Armed Violence,' Carlos Fernández, Director of the NGO CESAL in El Salvador, Carmen Rosa De León, Executive Director of the Institute for Sustainable Development in Guatemala and Leyla Elisa Díaz, Collaborator for the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance in Honduras.

There is a significant link between small arms and lethal violence in the Northern Triangle. Between 2013 and 2018, 80 per cent of all violent killings were committed with a firearm.

Despite the link between firearms and murder rates, the regions' governments have generally treated arms control as a separate issue from broader security plans.

Ordinary citizens and private security companies own on average 73 per cent of the total number of registered firearms in the region.

Interviewees explained that illegal firearms are widely available, mainly because of high demand due to perceptions of insecurity, weak gun control mechanisms and failings in the disarmament process following the countries' civil wars.

Criminal groups benefit most from violence in communities. Urban street gangs exercise tight territorial control thanks to their significant fire power, which is funded through extortion.

Although at a regional level men are more vulnerable to armed violence than women, the latter often become collateral victims.

Fear is part of every day life for those living in gang-controlled areas, caused by a juxtaposition of gang violence and heavy-handed policing.

Most children and teenagers in Guatemala and Honduras considered guns to be the best form of self-defence.

Police officers described a paradoxical situation where citizens view gangs as protectors, even if those gangs inflict suffering upon their own communities.

Participants showed a distrust of law enforcement officials.

Armed violence is seen as part of every day life for local communities, who also feel stigmatised by this.

Violence was described as a push factor for community members to travel to the United States undocumented, seeing it as the only way to escape the violence.

Guatemala

Local government should expand the implementation of Community Development Councils which promote citizen decision making on local violence prevention policies and create safe spaces between communities and public authorities.

Honduras
The government should continue efforts to reform the police with training on human rights and civilian relations and reinforce a community focused approach.

El Salvador
The focus should be on finding a balance between launching new violence prevention initiatives and maintaining the already successful approaches of community policing and violence prevention committees. Authorities should continue to offer rehabilitation and prevention projects to at-risk youths.

Regional Approaches

Increase investment in development and education in high risk areas.

Recognise emergency health issues resulting from armed violence.

Educate children and adolescents on the dangers of arms misuse.

Promote regional cooperation on arms control and harmonise each country's firearms legislation according to international standards.

Improve technical capacities and promote transparency in the registry of firearms, improve security of weapons stores and destroy surplus stocks to stop them falling into the wrong hands.

Take a gendered approach to arms control initiatives, including promoting the participation of women in decision-making bodies.

The HALO Trust wishes to thank Switzerland for its support to the research project, and to the numerous individuals throughout the Northern Triangle countries for giving their time to participate in the interviews. Special thanks to the women, parents, children, and young adults in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador who participated in the group interviews and shared their testimonies, as well as to the local NGOs IEPADES (Guatemala), Buenas Acciones Honduras, and Tutela Legal (El Salvador) for their facilitation. *Names of individuals have been changed to protect their identity.

Researcher and author: Sofía Martínez Fernández