COVID-19 lockdown and domestic violence: Evidence from internet-search behavior in 11 countries.

ABSTRACT: We study the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on domestic violence in 11 countries with different ex-ante incidence of domestic violence (DV) and lockdown intensity. We use a novel measure of DV incidents that allows us to make cross-country comparisons: a Google search intensity index of DV-related topics. Our difference-in-difference estimates show an increase in DV search intensity after lockdown (30%), with larger effects as more people stayed at home (measured with Google Mobility Data). The peak of the increase in DV appears, on average, 5 weeks after the introduction of the lockdown. While we observe that the positive impact on DV is a widespread phenomenon, the effect in developed countries is more than twice as strong as in Latin American countries. We show that the difference in i

SUBMITTER: Berniell I 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9188029 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature