Domestic Violence and Divorce Law: When Divorce Threats Become Credible

Abstract

This paper investigates whether lowering the cost of divorce can reduce domestic violence. The cost of divorce influences the bargaining position of spouses, and thus, their behavior within the marriage. This study takes advantage of a large and unexpected reform of the divorce regime in Spain, which allowed for unilateral and no-fault divorce, and eliminated the pre-existing 1-year mandatory separation period, to estimate the causal effects. This reform dramatically reduced the cost of exiting a partnership for married couples, but not for unmarried ones, which favors a differencein-differences identification strategy. This study analyzes several measures of spousal conflict, ranging from self-reported spousal abuse and technical definitions of spousal violence based on recorded behavior, to more extreme measures of well-being such as partner homicide. Results suggest a decline of 27-36 percent in spousal conflict and around 30 percent in extreme partner violence as a consequence of the reform. Moreover, spousal violence has been found to decrease among couples who remain married after the legal modification, which suggests an important role for changes in bargaining within the marriage when divorce becomes a more credible (cheaper) option. The results are not driven by selection and are robust to a variety of checks.JEL Codes: D13, J12, J16, K36

Marital Separation and Lethal Male Partner Violence

“…Findings reported by a number of sociologists and economists indicate that one of the significant effects of the implementation of conflict-resolving no-fault unilateral divorce laws in the United States and Europe was a significant decrease in spousal femicides (husbands killing wives; Brassiolo, 2011;Dee, 2003;Dugan, Nagin, & Rosenfeld, 1999;Gillis, 1996;Stevenson & Wolfers, 1999). Economists identified the mechanism underlying the decrease as a "lowering of credible threat points" for leaving a relationship in which wives were being battered by husbands who may also have uttered death threats (Dee, 2003, p. 166).…”

Social attributes of the male that incite the violence by intimate partner

“…A national survey that listened to 19 women revealed that the partner's infidelity incites conflicts between the couple, as women tend to question such behavior, which generates conjugal violence (36) . A study carried out in Spain also found that most cases of conjugal violence are motivated by male betrayal, and when the woman decides to separate, she also begins to suffer threats and even situations of physical violence (39) . Thus, when they are betrayed, women are more likely to suffer violence, either because they protest or because they decide to separate, and it is up to them to ensure their protection, only to accept the betrayal without question.…”

Intimate Partner Violence: The Influence of Job Opportunities for Men and Women

“…Estimations include individual level controls, and country and year fixed effects. ;2005, 20142005, 20142007, 2013, 2014Cameroon, 20112007, 2013Colombia 2004, 2005, 2009, 20102012 Democratic Republic of Congo;2007, 2013, 20142008 Dominican Republic;2007, 201320052012 Honduras;2008 India;200520052008, 2009, 20142012 India;2005, 2007Jordan, 20072010, 2015, 20162008, 2009, 2014, 20132012 Mozambique;2011 Liberia;, 200720102010, 2015, 2016…”