This website uses cookies.

By clicking the "Accept" button or continuing to browse our site, you agree to first-party and session-only cookies being stored on your device to enhance site navigation and analyze site performance and traffic. For more information on our use of cookies, please see our Privacy Policy.

« Back to Results

Measuring and Understanding Violence against Women (VAW) in Developing Countries

Paper Session

Saturday, Jan. 4, 2020 8:00 AM - 10:00 AM (PDT)

Marriott Marquis, Grand Ballroom 10
Hosted By: American Economic Association
  • Chair: Veronica Frisancho, Inter-American Development Bank

Measurement Error in Self-Reported Data: Experimental Evidence for Intimate Partner Violence

Erica Field
,
Duke University
Jorge Aguero
,
University of Connecticut
Ursula Aldana
,
Institute of Peruvian Studies
Veronica Frisancho
,
Inter-American Development Bank
Javier Romero Haaker
,
Duke University

Abstract

The prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) is often measured with self-reported survey data, following the instruments and protocols widely used in the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS). Given the sensitive nature of this phenomenon, these data may suffer from non-random measurement error, raising concerns about the validity of descriptive studies, impact evaluations, and policy choices. Our study tests new survey methods that provide greater degrees of privacy when measuring IPV prevalence, but without increasing data collection costs. We offer participants two additional ways to answer IPV related questions that provide varying levels of anonymity relative to DHS-type direct questions. We randomize a sample of over eight thousand women in rural and peri-urban Peru into two treatment arms and a control group. While women in the control group respond to the face-to-face standard DHS questionnaire on IPV, the treatment arms provide either partial anonymity in the field through secret reporting through a ballot or full anonymity through indirect questioning using list experiments. We find that reported prevalence rates increase with the level of privacy, particularly for the most severe violent episodes. Even though rates are higher when measured by list experiments, the estimates are less precise when compared to those obtained from the ballot. Our contribution goes beyond the topic of IPV as the measurement alternatives we propose may extend to other sensitive topics and behaviors.

Women Empowerment Programs and Domestic Violence

Manuela Angelucci
,
University of Texas-Austin
Rachel Heath
,
University of Washington

Abstract

Women empowerment programs that transfer skills and resources are expected to improve autonomy, increase bargaining power, and reduce intimate partner violence (IPV). Yet, these efforts may backfire if partners increase violence to either control the woman's resources or assert their dominance. Involving men in these interventions by helping them understand how these programs may indirectly benefit them, reflect on their attitudes, and deal with intra-household conflict may minimize these concerns. To test these hypotheses, we pair a women empowerment intervention in DRC, a country where IPV is rampant, with a men's engagement program. This study will shed light on how to design effective policies to empower women and on whether engagement programs can change beliefs and behaviors, thus shedding light on preference, belief, and norm formation.

Countering Violence against Women at Scale: A Mass Media Experiment in Rural Uganda

Donald P. Green
,
Columbia University
Anna Wilke
,
Columbia University
Jasper Cooper
,
Columbia University

Abstract

Violence against women (VAW) is widespread in East Africa, with almost half of married women experiencing physical abuse. Those seeking to address this policy issue confront two challenges. First, some forms of domestic violence are widely condoned; majorities of men and women believe that a husband is justified in beating his wife in a variety of scenarios. Second, victims and bystanders are often reluctant to report incidents to authorities. Building on a growing literature showing that education-entertainment can change norms and behaviors, we present experimental evidence from a media campaign attended by over 10,000 Ugandans in 112 villages. In randomly assigned villages, video dramatizations discouraged VAW and encouraged reporting. Results from interviews conducted several months after the intervention show no change in attitudes condoning VAW yet a substantial increase in willingness to report to authorities, especially among women, and a decline in the share of women who experienced violence.

Income Changes and Intimate Partner Violence: Evidence from Unconditional Cash Transfers in Kenya

Johannes Haushofer
,
Princeton University
Charlotte Ringdal
,
Norwegian School of Economics
Jeremy P. Shapiro
,
Busara Center for Behavioral Economics
Xiao Yu Wang
,
Duke University

Abstract

We study the impact of randomized unconditional cash transfers to both men and women on intimate partner violence in Kenya. Transfers to women averaging USD 709 reduced physical and sexual violence (–0.26, –0.22 standard deviations). Transfers to men reduced only physical violence (–0.18 SD). We find evidence of spillovers: physical violence towards non-recipient women in treatment villages decreased (–0.16 SD). We show theoretically that transfers to both men and women are needed to understand why violence occurs. Our theory suggests that husbands use physical violence to extract resources, but dislike it, while the converse may be true for sexual violence.
Discussant(s)
Johannes Haushofer
,
Princeton University
Donald P. Green
,
Columbia University
Manuela Angelucci
,
University of Texas-Austin
Erica Field
,
Duke University
JEL Classifications
  • O0 - General
  • J1 - Demographic Economics