Women's Participation in the Arab Spring Protests and the Prevalence of Domestic Violence: Evidence From Egypt
利用埃及2011-2014年抗议强度的地区差异和女性参与数据，研究发现女性在抗议更活跃的地区遭受亲密伴侣暴力的风险显著下降，同时家庭决策权提升。
During the Arab Spring protests, Egyptian women demonstrated in streets in unprecedented numbers, challenging societal norms about women’s roles and rights. Using a triple difference approach and nationally representative DHS data, this study exploits regional variation in protest intensity and women’s participation in the protests from 2011 to 2014 to examine the changes in women’s risk of experiencing domestic violence. Results show that women experienced a significant decline in their probability of experiencing physical, sexual, and psychological violence from their intimate partners in regions more exposed to women’s political participation in Arab Spring protests. Exploring potential channels, the study finds a significant increase in women’s decision-making power in more affected regions, without significant changes in attitudes toward domestic violence or labor market outcomes. These effects underscore the role of increased visibility of women in public spaces in empowering women and reducing their experience of intimate partner violence.HIGHLIGHTSEgyptian women protested in unprecedented numbers during Arab Spring demonstrations.Exposure to these events changed women’s risk of experiencing intimate partner violence.Women experienced a significant decline in intimate partner violence in more affected regions.Women also experienced an increase in decision-making power within the household.