Work

What one thinks, what one says and what one does: Male justifications and practices of gender-based violence in Mali

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Gender-based violence is widespread across the world. While the literature focuses mostly on women as victims of violence, this paper studies men's justifications for and perpetration of GBV in Mali, one of the countries with the highest GBV prevalence rates. We elicit GBV-related opinions and behaviors among men in Bamako with a list experiment that we contrast to a set of direct questions to estimate response bias. We find large support for GBV: one respondent in two supports female genital mutilation and intimate partner violence. Besides, one in four has already physically hit an adult woman. Several direct questions suffer from response bias. Support for female genital mutilation is overreported, while justification for intimate partner violence is underreported. Bias varies little with respondent characteristics. The legal framework addressing GBV and social norms appear to shape response bias, highlighting the need to exercise caution when using data collected via direct questioning.

Source: Journal of Development Economics

DOI: 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2025.103479

Authors: Olivia Bertelli, Thomas Calvo, Emmanuelle Lavallée, Marion Mercier, Sandrine Mesplé-Somps

Institutions: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université Paris Sciences et Lettres, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Université Paris Dauphine-PSL

Language: English

Topic: Intimate Partner and Family Violence

Subfield: Health

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Gender equality, Peace, justice, and strong institutions, Reduced inequalities, Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $4,590