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Call It Femicide: Legal Recognition, Victim Protection, and Domestic Violence

Author

Listed:
  • Rui Costa
  • Olivia Masi
  • Beatriz Ribeiro
  • Matteo Sandi

Abstract

Can criminal law prevent domestic violence and change how victims use the state? We study Brazil’s 2015 recognition of femicide as qualified homicide using ten years of linked population, police, hospital, and prison records for 2.6 million women. Exploiting predetermined municipal exposure to men with histories of violence against women, we find that police-recorded non-fatal domestic violence fell disproportionately in more exposed areas. Conditional on an incident reaching police, requests for protective measures rose, while pursuit of charges did not. Legal recognition at the lethal endpoint can therefore affect both violence below that margin and survivors’ choice of state remedy.

Suggested Citation

  • Rui Costa & Olivia Masi & Beatriz Ribeiro & Matteo Sandi, 2026. "Call It Femicide: Legal Recognition, Victim Protection, and Domestic Violence," CESifo Working Paper Series 12956, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_12956
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • K14 - Law and Economics - - Basic Areas of Law - - - Criminal Law
    • K42 - Law and Economics - - Legal Procedure, the Legal System, and Illegal Behavior - - - Illegal Behavior and the Enforcement of Law
    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure

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