It Takes A Curfew: The Effect of Covid-19 on Female Homicides

Gender-based violence is a global phenomenon threatening women irrespective of race, nationality, education or socio-economic status. Evidence shows that domestic violence help calls have been increasing in many countries during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the effect on female homicides, this extreme form of violence, is not clear. In this study, we analyze the effects of social distancing measures and in particular the impact of curfews on female homicides in Turkey where domestic violence and female homicides are on the rise, causing public uproar. We find that the probability that a woman is killed by an intimate partner declined by about 57 percent during the period of strict social distancing measures, and by 83.8 percent during curfews in comparison to the same period between 2014 and 2019. We do not find any impact on female homicides by other perpetrator types. We argue that the main reason driving the decline in female homicides is the physical inability of ex-partners to reach victims due to isolation measures, although homicides by current partners have also declined during curfews. Fewer women leaving current partners due to economic hardships and fear of infection as well as increased probability of getting caught -especially during curfews might have also played a role in deterring deadly crimes against women.