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COVID-19 and gender-biased violence: current knowledge, gaps, and implications for public policy

Author

Listed:
  • Fabiana Rocha
  • Maria Dolores Montoya Diaz
  • Paula Carvalho Pereda
  • Isadora Bousquat Arabe
  • Filipe Cavalcanti
  • Samuel Lordemus
  • Noemi Kreif
  • Rodrigo Moreno-Serra

Abstract

On a global scale, 1 in 3 women experience physical and/or sexual violence in their lifetime, and women of disadvantaged backgrounds are at an even higher risk. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, data have shown that violence against women (VAW) has intensified. In this paper, we review an incipient but rapidly growing literature that evaluates the effects of stay-at-home measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19 on VAW. We focus on low and middle-income countries and classify existing studies into three categories according to the quality of the data used and the reliability of the identification strategies: not causal, less causal, and causal. Overall, the existing literature offers mixed evidence about the VAW effects of stay-at-home measures, although increases in VAW have been more frequently observed where stay-at-home measures were stricter. Important reasons for the mixed evidence found in the literature seem to be the different types of violence analyzed (physical, sexual, psychological, or economic) and the corresponding difficulties in reporting. The main methodological challenges for this literature are data availability and the reliability of the methods employed to separate the effects of social isolation on VAW from those VAW effects associated with the income and emotional shocks from the COVID-19 pandemic. Innovative methods and data can help to improve our understanding and design better policy responses to this major social and public health challenge.

Suggested Citation

  • Fabiana Rocha & Maria Dolores Montoya Diaz & Paula Carvalho Pereda & Isadora Bousquat Arabe & Filipe Cavalcanti & Samuel Lordemus & Noemi Kreif & Rodrigo Moreno-Serra, 2024. "COVID-19 and gender-biased violence: current knowledge, gaps, and implications for public policy," Working Papers, Department of Economics 2024_14, University of São Paulo (FEA-USP).
    • Handle: RePEc:spa:wpaper:2024wpecon14
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    gender-based violence; COVID-19 pandemic; Low- and middle-income countries;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • H12 - Public Economics - - Structure and Scope of Government - - - Crisis Management

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