More Than Just A Piece Of Paper: A Toolkit For Advocates On Firearms And Domestic Violence During COVID-19
January 2021
Resource made available by the Battered Women’s Justice Project
“The spike in gun sales during the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly concerned us at the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence and Firearms (NRCDVF). Social isolation, stress and anxiety has surged during the pandemic. Many families are experiencing underemployment or unemployment, worries about homelessness and other environmental stressors. Add to this the alarming spike in gun sales—including among first-time gun buyers—and the risk of intimate partner homicide increases significantly. The NRCDVF spent the better part of 2020 conducting interviews, holding focus groups, and working with communications professionals to develop new strategies for engaging people on intimate partner violence and firearms. The results show: 1) there are solutions; and 2) we must believe we can solve this problem.”