Female income generation and intimate partner violence: Evidence from a representative survey in Turkey

Abstract

Economic empowerment of women is a central strategy to foster economic growth and reduce gendered discrimination. However, it is not yet certain whether the positive impacts extend into domestic violence as theoretical and empirical evidence indicate the possibility of unintentional adverse consequences. We present and analyse new survey data from Turkey. Our results indicate higher risk of intimate partner violence for income-earning women and point to forced rent extraction by male partners as the mechanism. Organizations promoting such empowerment in development contexts should be aware of these potential negative consequences and should plan for steps to mitigate them.