Inter-Generational Benefits of Improving Access to Justice for Women: Evidence from Peru

Abstract

In many developing countries, access to justice remains unequal, especially for women. What are the implications of this inequality for gender-based violence and investment in children? This paper provides evidence from Peru's women's justice centers (WJCs), specialized institutions that employ mostly female officers and provide police and legal services to reduce gender-based violence. Examining the gradual rollout of WJCs across districts and villages, we find that the opening of a center increases reporting and prosecutions for gender-specifi c crimes; it also reduces the incidence of gender-based violence, as measured by domestic violence, female deaths due to aggression, and hospitalizations due to mental health, by about 10%. We find, moreover, that this decrease in women's exposure to violence has intergenerational effects: WJCs substantially increase human capital investments in children, raising enrollment, attendance, and test scores.