@misc{32761,
title = {When Women Win: Can Female Representation Decrease Gender-Based Violence?},
author = {Frisancho, Verónica and Pappa, Evi and Santantonio, Chiara},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.18235/0004513},
abstract = {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.},
url = {https://doi.org/10.18235/0004513}
}