WomEmpower · The Causal Effect of Motherhood, Gender Norms, and Cash Transfers to Women on Intimate Partner Violence

“A life free of violence is a basic human right” (WHO 2013). Yet one in three women in the EU has experienced physical and/or sexual violence since age 15, with the perpetrator often her (ex-)partner. Ending gender-based and domestic violence is one of society’s greatest challenges and a top priority of the European Commission as reflected in its Gender Equality Strategy 2020-25. The question is how.WomEmpower is an interdisciplinary study adopting a comprehensive ecological framework (Heise 1998, 2011) to examine the impact of household, community and structural factors on Intimate Partner Violence (IPV). WomEmpower will estimate causally the effect of (1) motherhood, (2) gender norms and (3) cash transfers to working women on the risk of victimization of women in the EU by their (ex-)partners and then identify the underlying mechanisms at work.Three challenges emerge: How to measure IPV? How to measure gender norms? How to identify causality? First, WomEmpower utilizes novel and unique “big data” sources and state-of-the-art quantitative methods to provide a radically new perspective on the protective and risk factors for the incidence and severity of IPV by estimating the link between IPV and motherhood and its underlying mechanisms using population-level administrative longitudinal data instead of the small-sample administrative data obtained from hospitals, the police, family counselling or shelters. Second, WomEmpower uses quasi-experimental techniques to estimate causally the role of gender norms on (1) IPV, (2) women’s experiences of gender-based discrimination and (3) women’s and men’s attitudes about hegemonic masculine norms. Third, WomEmpower will determine whether cash transfers to vulnerable women may prevent domestic violence in high-income countries and why. This comprehensive evidence-based research identifying the causal factors of IPV is crucial for the long-term goal of improving the health and well-being of women and their children in Europe.