Exposure to collective gender-based violence causes intimate partner violence

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Stojetz, Wolfgang; Brueck, Tilman
• 署名单位: Leibniz Association; Leibniz Institut fur Gemuse- und Zierpflanzenbau (IGZ); Humboldt University of Berlin
• 刊物名称: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0304-3878
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2023.103054
• 发表日期: 2023

摘要

Globally, one in three women experience intimate partner violence (IPV) over their lifetimes. Yet, the factors that cause men to commit IPV remain poorly un-derstood. We propose and test a causal long-term link from past exposure to gender-based collective violence to violent behavior against an intimate partner. Combining novel survey data from Angolan war veteran families and a natural experiment, we find that exposure to sexual violence by armed groups against women makes male veterans about 30 percentage points more likely to commit physical - but not sexual - violence against a female intimate partner 18 years later (on average). Our results are not consistent with standard explanations of IPV based on group norms and intra-household bargaining. Instead, we attribute the effect to a lasting reduction in self-control skills. These findings challenge standard approaches to preventing IPV and emphasize the potential of working with men, especially after war-time episodes of collective violence.