Missing Victims, Hidden Crimes: Improving Estimates of Honor Killings Using Missing Data Imputation

Mariel Leonard and Teresa Koenig

No aq2et_v1, SocArXiv from Center for Open Science

Abstract: Very little accurate data on the incidence and prevalence of honor killings exists. While some countries have made strides to identify and track cases on an ongoing basis, many countries either have no official statistics or rely on outdated data and imprecise methodologies. More accurate and up-to-date statistics are needed to better direct resources, identify cases and behaviors for study and intervention, and reduce biases. Unfortunately, measuring honor killings is methodologically difficult. However, while single lists of honor killings cannot accurately estimate the number of events, two or more lists in combination can, using multi-systems estimation (MSE). In this paper, we test the application of MSE to honor killings in four countries: Canada, Germany, the United Kingdom, and the United States by comparing estimates from MSE to counts of cases produced by aggregating multiple lists from each country. We find that MSE produces plausible estimates that demonstrate that even in seemingly complete lists of individuals or cases underestimate the scope of honor killings in these countries.

Date: 2026-09-18
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:osf:socarx:aq2et_v1

DOI: 10.31235/osf.io/aq2et_v1

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