Cristina Clerici, SSE

“The Parallel Pandemic of Intimate Partner Violence in Uganda: the Unintended Consequences of the Lockdown”, co-authored with Stefano Tripodi, CBS.

ABSTRACT: Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) against women is a global problem and the recent pandemic has made it substantially worse. Among other factors, spouses’ employment status can affect violent behaviors within the household. In this paper, we study the relationship between temporary male job loss and IPV against women in Uganda by exploiting the restrictions imposed by the Government to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic during April/May 2020. Using data collected through a phone survey administered in November 2020, we compare employed women whose partners’ occupational sectors were not allowed to operate during the COVID-19 lockdown to employed women whose partners’ job sectors remained unaffected. In line with the anecdotal evidence, we see a notable increase in physical violence (which includes both sexual abuse and beating) for women in the Affected group as a consequence of their husbands’ temporary unemployment.

The link to the seminar will be distributed by invitation only. Please contact lyudmila.vafaeva@hhs.se if you would like to attend the seminar.