Research Insights: Can Female Representation Decrease Gender-Based Violence?
Peer Reviewed
Date issued
December 2022
Publication
Subject
Women;
Femicide;
Crime and Violence;
Police Force;
Gender-Based Violence;
Female Representation;
Delinquency;
Elections;
Regression Discontinuity Design;
Domestic Violence;
Debtor Finance;
Legislature;
Gender
JEL code
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
Country
United States
Category
Catalogs and Brochures
The number of femicides in a district decreases by about 10 percent the year a female Representative is elected, but we find no effect on rapes. Looking at the entire duration of the term, the effect on femicides vanishes and there is a significant increase of around 25 percent in the number of rape victims. This pattern is consistent with higher reporting rather than an increase in the actual prevalence of violence. The drop in femicides is mainly driven by a deterrence effect that results from higher police responsiveness and effort in solving gender-related crimes.
