The Role of Laws in Shaping Tolerance Toward Violence Against Women

In this paper, we analyze how the enactment of domestic violence laws affects the tolerance of violence against women. We combine data from the 2012 to 2023 LAPOP surveys, covering Latin America, the Caribbean, and North America, with data from Women, Business, and the Law 2024 from the World Bank. Using an event study methodology, we estimate whether the initial moment an individual is exposed to domestic violence law influences her tolerance of violence against women. Specifically, we compare the tolerance of violence against women across cohorts that differ by how early in their lives their country of residence enacted the domestic violence law. We find that cohorts that were exposed to the law since birth or during childhood and adolescence are less tolerant of violence than cohorts exposed later in life. Our results are robust to changes in socioeconomic characteristics across cohorts.