When Women Win: Can Female Representation Decrease Gender-Based Violence?
Every day, three women are murdered in the United States by a current or former partner. Yet policy action to prevent gender-based violence has been limited. Previous studies have highlighted the effect of female political representation on crimes against women in the developing world. This paper investigates whether the election of a female politician reduces the incidence of gender-based violence in the United States. Using a regression discontinuity design on mixed-gender races, we find that the election of a female House Representative leads to a short-lived decline in the prevalence of femicides in her electoral district. The drop in femicides is mainly driven by a deterrence effect that results from higher police responsiveness and effort in solving gender-related crimes.
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| Language: | English |
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Inter-American Development Bank
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| Subjects: | Women, Gender, Elections, Femicide, Economic Impact, Crime and Violence, Race, Police Force, Homicide, D72 - Political Processes: Rent-Seeking Lobbying Elections Legislatures and Voting Behavior, J12 - Marriage • Marital Dissolution • Family Structure • Domestic Abuse, J16 - Economics of Gender • Non-labor Discrimination, |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.18235/0004513 https://publications.iadb.org/en/when-women-win-can-female-representation-decrease-gender-based-violence |
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| Summary: | Every day, three women are murdered in the United States by a current or former partner. Yet policy action to prevent gender-based violence has been limited. Previous studies have highlighted the effect of female political representation on crimes against women in the developing world. This paper investigates whether the election of a female politician reduces the incidence of gender-based violence in the United States. Using a regression discontinuity design on mixed-gender races, we find that the election of a female House Representative leads to a short-lived decline in the prevalence of femicides in her electoral district. The drop in femicides is mainly driven by a deterrence effect that results from higher police responsiveness and effort in solving gender-related crimes. |
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