No. 91 Gender Violence, Media Reports, and Deterioration of Female Autonomy: Evidence from Acid Attacks
gender violencemedia reportfemale autonomyintimate partner violence
Mass media reports incidents of gender violence to promote public awareness, but it may unintentionally deteriorate female autonomy by reinforcing traditional gender norms. We test this hypothesis by examining the impact of exposure to information about the occurrence of acid attacks, a form of violence that involves throwing acid at women’s bodies. We show that exposure causes women to accept intimate partner violence. The impact increases in regions with greater acid availability, where attacks occur more frequently. Acid availability is also negatively associated with women’s employment, health, and intrahousehold decision-making and with husbands’ attitudes towards accepting female labor force participation.