Gender, Crime and Punishment: Evidence from Women Police Stations in India

Amaral, Sofia; Bhalotra, Sonia R.; Prakash, Nishith

doi:10.2139/ssrn.3823617

Cited by 19 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 41 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…This form of policing provides safe spaces for women willing to use formal support services. They typically employ women officers purposely trained to handle gender‐based violence crimes (Amaral et al, 2019). Other services such as psychological, social and legal advice, education and prevention or mediation can be offered in those stations (Perova & Reynolds, 2017).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strengthening women's empowerment and gender equality in fragile contexts towards peaceful and inclusive societies: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Lwamba¹,

Shisler²,

Ridlehoover³

et al. 2022

Campbell Systematic Reviews

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Across the globe, gender disparities still exist with regard to equitable access to resources, participation in decision‐making processes, and gender and sexual‐based violence. This is particularly true in fragile and conflict‐affected settings, where women and girls are affected by both fragility and conflict in unique ways. While women have been acknowledged as key actors in peace processes and post‐conflict reconstruction (e.g., through the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325 and the Women, Peace and Security Agenda) evidence on the effectiveness of gender‐specific and gender‐transformative interventions to improve women's empowerment in fragile and conflict‐affected states and situations (FCAS) remains understudied. Objectives The purpose of this review was to synthesize the body of evidence around gender‐specific and gender‐transformative interventions aimed at improving women's empowerment in fragile and conflict‐affected settings with high levels of gender inequality. We also aimed to identify barriers and facilitators that could affect the effectiveness of these interventions and to provide implications for policy, practice and research designs within the field of transitional aid. Methods We searched for and screened over 100,000 experimental and quasi‐experimental studies focused on FCAS at the individual and community levels. We used standard methodological procedures outlined by the Campbell Collaboration for the data collection and analysis, including quantitative and qualitative analyses, and completed the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) methodology to assess the certainty around each body of evidence. Results We identified 104 impact evaluations (75% randomised controlled trials) assessing the effects of 14 different types of interventions in FCAS. About 28% of included studies were assessed as having a high risk of bias (45% among quasi‐experimental designs). Interventions supporting women's empowerment and gender equality in FCAS produced positive effects on the outcomes related to the primary focus of the intervention. There are no significant negative effects of any included interventions. However, we observe smaller effects on behavioural outcomes further along the causal chain of empowerment. Qualitative syntheses indicated that gender norms and practices are potential barriers to intervention effectiveness, while working with local powers and institutions can facilitate the uptake and legitimacy of interventions. Conclusions We observe gaps of rigorous evidence in certain regions (notably MENA and Latin America) and in interventions specifically targeting women as actors of peacebuilding. Gender norms and practices are important elements to consider in programme design and implementation to maximise potential benefits: focusing on empowerment only might not be enough in the absence of targeting the restrictive gender norms and practices that may undermine intervention effectiveness. Lastly, programme designers and im...

show abstract

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strengthening women's empowerment and gender equality in fragile contexts towards peaceful and inclusive societies: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Lwamba¹,

Shisler²,

Ridlehoover³

et al. 2022

Campbell Systematic Reviews

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Finally, this paper complements the literature on minority representation in politics and public goods provision (Chattopadhyay and Duflo, 2004;Pande, 2003;Clots-Figueras, 2012;Brollo and Troiano, 2016;Beaman et al, 2009;Iyer et al, 2012) by providing evidence on the role of female access and representation in another sphere-law enforcement-that may have a significant impact on reducing crimes against women. In this regard, our paper is related to a nascent literature exploring the effects of female officers' presence at police stations on the reporting of gender-specific crimes (Amaral, Bhalotra and Prakash, 2018;Miller and Segal, 2018;Perova and Reynolds, 2017). This paper complements this literature by analyzing an integral approach that increases both women's access to and representation in law and enforcement at all stages of the complaint process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender Violence, Enforcement, and Human Capital Evidence from Women's Justice Centers in Peru

Sviatschi

Trako

2022

SSRN Journal

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…The assumption is that female victims of crime will be more likely to report cases in women-only police stations, and that female officers in those stations will be less constrained by patriarchal policing cultures (16). However, recent research suggests that separating women's cases from other police work makes it less likely that officers in regular, mixed-gender police stations will file cases related to GBV, creating barriers to access that further marginalize women (11,13,17).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Policing in patriarchy: An experimental evaluation of reforms to improve police responsiveness to women in India

Sukhtankar

Kruks-Wisner

Mangla

2022

Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Gender-targeted police reforms are frequently proposed to tackle the global problem of rising yet under-reported gender-based violence (GBV)—but with mixed and often disappointing results. We explore this issue in India, a country with alarming rates of GBV and limited police capacity, by studying the impact of Women’s Help Desks (WHDs): dedicated spaces for women in local police stations, staffed by trained officers. Drawing on the largest randomized controlled trial of a police reform to date (180 police stations serving 23.4 million people), we find that officers in stations with WHDs are more likely to register cases of GBV, particularly where female officers run the desks. This suggests that even in resource-constrained and patriarchal environments, police responsiveness can be improved by focusing and mainstreaming attention to women’s cases and by greater gender representation within the police.

show abstract

Gender, Crime and Punishment: Evidence from Women Police Stations in India

Cited by 19 publications

References 41 publications

Strengthening women's empowerment and gender equality in fragile contexts towards peaceful and inclusive societies: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Strengthening women's empowerment and gender equality in fragile contexts towards peaceful and inclusive societies: A systematic review and meta‐analysis

Gender Violence, Enforcement, and Human Capital Evidence from Women's Justice Centers in Peru

Policing in patriarchy: An experimental evaluation of reforms to improve police responsiveness to women in India

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About