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Does Knowledge Empower? Education, Legal Awareness and Intimate Partner Violence

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  • Erten, Bilge

    (Northeastern University)

  • Keskin, Pinar

    (Wellesley College)

Abstract

This paper uses an extension of compulsory schooling in Turkey to estimate the causal effects of education on women's legal awareness of laws that were designed to reduce gender inequality and prevent domestic violence. By implementing a regression discontinuity design, we find that the reform-induced increase in female education improved legal awareness. Women exposed to the reform were more likely to have heard about the new laws and services through newspapers, journals, or books. However, despite these improvements in women's legal awareness, we find no evidence of a significant change in the risk of experiencing domestic violence or ability to quit abusive relationships.

Suggested Citation

  • Erten, Bilge & Keskin, Pinar, 2021. "Does Knowledge Empower? Education, Legal Awareness and Intimate Partner Violence," IZA Discussion Papers 14480, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp14480
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    Cited by:

    1. Mustafa Özer & Jan Fidrmuc & Mehmet Ali Eryurt, 2023. "Education and domestic violence: Evidence from a natural experiment in Turkey," Kyklos, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 76(3), pages 436-460, August.
    2. Pelin Akyol & Murat Guray Kirdar, 2021. "Does Education Really Cause Domestic Violence? Revisiting the Turkish Data," Koç University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum Working Papers 2120, Koc University-TUSIAD Economic Research Forum.
    3. Andréa Renk & Clarice Manuel, 2023. "Patriarchy on the map: Women’s empowerment trajectories in Nepal’s changing social context," DeFiPP Working Papers 2304, University of Namur, Development Finance and Public Policies.
    4. Ayça Akarçay & Sezgin Polat, 2023. "Reluctance to report criminal incidents: limited access to justice, social exclusion, and gender," European Journal of Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 55(1), pages 145-166, February.
    5. Selim Gulesci & Marinella Leone & Sameen Zafar, 2024. "Domestic Violence Laws and Social Norms: Evidence from Pakistan," Trinity Economics Papers tep0324, Trinity College Dublin, Department of Economics.
    6. Mavisakalyan, Astghik & Otrachshenko, Vladimir & Popova, Olga, 2024. "Natural Disasters and Acceptance of Intimate Partner Violence: The Global Evidence," IZA Discussion Papers 17172, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Makate, Marshall & Nyamuranga, Chamunorwa, 2024. "Changing the mindsets? Education and the intergenerational spread of tolerance for physical violence against women in Zimbabwe," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    information acquisition; legal knowledge; regression discontinuity; education; domestic violence;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • J16 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Gender; Non-labor Discrimination
    • I25 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Economic Development

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