Femicide Laws, Unilateral Divorce, and Abortion Decriminalization Fail to Stop Women from Being Killed in Mexico

TL;DR

This study assesses whether femicide laws, unilateral divorce, and abortion decriminalization reduce women’s killings in Mexico, finding that these legal measures alone are ineffective in decreasing femicide and related violence.

Contribution

It provides empirical evidence that legal reforms in Mexico have not significantly impacted femicide rates, highlighting the need for more comprehensive strategies.

Findings

Femicide laws did not reduce femicide or related violence.

Legal reforms alone are insufficient to combat gender-based violence.

Results are robust across different analytical methods.

Abstract

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of femicide laws in combating gender-based killings of women, a major cause of premature female mortality. Focusing on Mexico, a pioneer in adopting such legislation, the paper exploits variations in the enactment of femicide laws and prison sentences across states. Using the difference-in-differences estimator, the analysis reveals femicide laws have not impacted femicides, homicides, disappearances, or suicides of women. Results remain robust when considering differences in prison sentencing, states introducing unilateral divorce, equitable divorce asset compensation, or decriminalizing abortion. Findings also hold with synthetic matching, suggesting laws are insufficient to combat gender-based violence in contexts of impunity.