Adjusting to Toxic Husbands: Normalization of Domestic Violence by Women

One out of three women views intimate partner violence (IPV) as justified, and the rates of IPV approval are significantly higher among women than men. Beyond societal norms and family upbringing, what other factors explain IPV approval among women? We propose a theory that focuses on women’s experiences with ‘toxic husbands’ who display authoritarian attitudes and high proclivity to aggression. Our model highlights a novel mechanism whereby experiencing threatening behavior leads women to adopt fear-induced submission when the perceived risks are high and outside options are low, with IPV approval being a manifestation of internalized submission. Leveraging a population-level natural experiment created by the mandatory conscription system, the military deployment lottery, and the long-running civil conflict in Turkey as an exogenous influence on husband type, we test various predictions from our theory. We find that women whose husbands served in conflict zones are more approving of IPV, even when they have not experienced any. Further evidence supports the mechanism we propose with important implications for the fight against domestic violence.