Can Legislation Reduce Domestic Violence in Developing Countries?

My Nguyen () and Kien Le
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My Nguyen: Faculty of Economics and Public Management, Ho Chi Minh City Open University, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam
Kien Le: Faculty of Economics and Public Management, Ho Chi Minh City Open University, Ho Chi Minh City 700000, Vietnam

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 20, 1-15

Abstract: This study investigates the extent to which the legislation targeting domestic violence may influence both women’s victimization by their partners and marital dissolution in 54 developing countries. We find that the legislation is effective in reducing domestic violence against women, evidenced by the decreases in the composite indices of emotional abuse, less severe violence, more severe violence, and sexual violence by 13.6, 14.4, 19.6, and 11.5%, relatively, relative to the sample averages. The legislation also makes women less likely to be divorced. Our heterogeneity analysis reveals that the disadvantaged population, i.e., rural women, poorly educated women, women having poorly educated spouses, and women from relatively poorer households, might receive less protection from the domestic violence law. Our findings call for more reforms in the legislative systems, so that domestic violence victims can be better protected.

Keywords: domestic violence; legislation; law; women; developing countries (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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