Parental Leave and Intimate Partner Violence

Dan Anderberg (), Line Hjorth Andersen (), N. Meltem Daysal () and Mette Ejrnæs ()
Additional contact information
Dan Anderberg: Royal Holloway, University of London
Line Hjorth Andersen: Rockwool Foundation Research Unit
N. Meltem Daysal: University of Copenhagen
Mette Ejrnæs: University of Copenhagen

No 18194, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: We examine the impact of a 2002 Danish parental leave reform on intimate partner violence (IPV) using administrative data on assault-related hospital contacts. Using a regression discontinuity design, we show that extending fully paid leave increased mothers’ leave-taking and substantially reduced IPV, with effects concentrated among less-educated women. The reform also lengthened birth spacing, while separations remained unchanged and earnings effects were modest. The timing and heterogeneity of impacts point to fertility adjustments—rather than exit options or financial relief—as the key mechanism. Parental leave policy thus emerges as an underexplored lever for reducing IPV.

Keywords: parental leave; intimate partner violence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I38 J12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eur and nep-hea
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