Does the Gender Wage Gap Influence Intimate Partner Violence in Brazil? Evidence from Administrative Health Data
Improving women’s economic status has been presented in theory as a protective mechanism against intimate partner violence. Using panel data from 2011–16 for the most populous 20 percent of municipalities in Brazil, the analysis tests if the gender wage gap is causally associated with three administrative measures of violence against women: homicides, overnight hospitalizations for assault, and incidents of domestic violence reported by attending health workers about patients. The analysis finds that a narrowing in the gender wage gap leads to a reduction of homicides of women, especially among younger women and in municipalities with a low Human Development Index. The impact on less severe forms of violence, also captured in medical reports, depends on the context. A reduction in the gender wage ratio triggers a decrease in reports in municipalities that have police stations specifically designed to address crimes against women, but it has the opposite impact in the absence of such services. The results suggest that while improvements in gender equality in the labor market curtail the most severe forms of violence against women, they need to be complemented by policies directly focused on women’s safety to reduce less severe violence effectively.
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Working Paper biblioteca |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2021-05
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| Subjects: | INTIMATE PARTNER VIOLENCE, GENDER EQUALITY, GENDER WAGE GAP, GENDER WAGE RATIO, MANDATORY REPORTING, VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN, LABOR MARKET, GENDER INNOVATION LAB, WOMEN AND EMPLOYMENT, |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/910631620743088431/Does-the-Gender-Wage-Gap-Influence-Intimate-Partner-Violence-in-Brazil-Evidence-from-Administrative-Health-Data https://hdl.handle.net/10986/35569 |
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| Summary: | Improving women’s economic status has
been presented in theory as a protective mechanism against
intimate partner violence. Using panel data from 2011–16 for
the most populous 20 percent of municipalities in Brazil,
the analysis tests if the gender wage gap is causally
associated with three administrative measures of violence
against women: homicides, overnight hospitalizations for
assault, and incidents of domestic violence reported by
attending health workers about patients. The analysis finds
that a narrowing in the gender wage gap leads to a reduction
of homicides of women, especially among younger women and in
municipalities with a low Human Development Index. The
impact on less severe forms of violence, also captured in
medical reports, depends on the context. A reduction in the
gender wage ratio triggers a decrease in reports in
municipalities that have police stations specifically
designed to address crimes against women, but it has the
opposite impact in the absence of such services. The results
suggest that while improvements in gender equality in the
labor market curtail the most severe forms of violence
against women, they need to be complemented by policies
directly focused on women’s safety to reduce less severe
violence effectively. |
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