Sexual Violence: A Model of Occupational Choice and Gender Wage Gap

Abstract

Surge in sexual violence in India is a public concern in the recent times. I present the stylized facts regarding rapes in India over time and contrast them to the global data. Incidence of rape is positively associated with per capita income of a country and to female participation in the labour force. The documented empirical facts may not be representative of the reality because of many unreported incidences. Even though, we accept the empirical facts on their face value, these facts may not represent general rise in crime levels but a shift in occupational choice for women who are increasingly into non-traditional roles. I build a theoretical model where a woman has the choice to work in non-traditional sector as opposed to a traditional one. The model predicts that the gender gap in wages will reduce with technological progress but the sexual assault will register a rise. This will result in intensification in public demand for infrastructure that makes woman safe in their non-traditional role. JEL: J16, J62, O33