Impact of the influx of Syrian refugees on domestic violence against Jordanian women: Evidence from the 2017–18 Jordan Population and Family Health Survey

Abstract

The 2011 Syrian crisis led to a large influx of refugees into neighboring countries, including Jordan. The resulting stress on local host communities could heighten the risk of domestic violence against Jordanian women. We utilized multilevel propensity score weighting and data from the 2017–18 Jordan Population and Family Health Survey to empirically test for differences in outcomes related to domestic violence, marital control, and justification of wife-beating between Jordanian communities with varying density levels of Syrian women. We did not find systematic differences in these outcomes across communities. However, we cannot rule out effects that may not be statistically detectable with our sample but could still be substantively meaningful.