The effects of women's shelters on domestic violence

Abstract

Domestic violence is a significant issue in Finland, with high rates of violence against women. Shelters are a crucial service for victims of domestic violence, but economic research on their impact on domestic violence remains limited. This paper conducts a difference-in-difference analysis to examine the relationship between shelters and domestic violence. The results show no clear impact of shelters on domestic violence, with mostly statistically insignificant correlations. The estimates are insignificant and non-robust to different specifications. To test the identifying assumption that the opening of a new shelter is independent of any local trends in domestic violence, I perform a pre-treatment trend test and find support for the assumption that the opening of a new shelter is not correlated with pre-treatment trends in domestic violence. To take into consideration potential spill-over effects, the thesis also analyzes a larger geographical level. Despite potential limitations, the study contributes to understanding the role of shelters in the Finnish context.