Holi Crimes

A significant number of women experience physical or sexual violence throughout their lives, with a considerable portion of such incidents occurring in public spaces. Harmful social norms emphasizing men’s power over women have been highlighted as one crucial culprit. We study a public festivity in India, Holi (the festival of colors), where a common phrase: “Bura na mano Holi Hai†(Don’t feel offended, it’s Holi) has been misappropriated by many to justify inappropriate behavior. Leveraging different dates of the celebrations based on the lunar calendar, we document a dramatic increase of over 170% assaults against women during Holi. We analyze how perpetrators’ and victims’ gender norms drive violence against women. First, we find that Holi exacerbates existing attitudes towards violence against women, where there is higher violence in districts where men believe that violence against women is justified. Second, we find a male backlash effect, where there is higher violence against women in districts where women believe that violence against women is inappropriate. While patriarchal norms influence reporting behavior and women’s mobility, neither underreporting nor reduced mobility during Holi appear to be the main drivers of the second effect. Overall, this paper highlights the critical role of social norms and gender imbalances in shaping violence against women, underscoring the urgent need for intervention.