The Economics of Violence and Harassment Against Women Conference

Violence against women and girls (VAW) is a widespread, persistent, and devastating human rights violation (UN Women). It is deeply traumatic physically and psychologically for victims. As many as one in three women report having ever experienced intimate partner violence at some stage in their lives. Anywhere from 55 to 90% of women say they have experienced sexual harassment at least once in their lifetime in developed or developing countries. Prevention of VAW is one of UN Women’s sustainable development goals for 2030.

Within research in economics, however, violence against women has remained relatively understudied. Given the #MeToo movement and the rise of global conflict related violence against women, there is a greater need to study the causes and consequences of violence and harassment against women. In addition, it is important to understand what can be done  to curb violence and harassment.

On November 30 and December 1, 2023, the Stanford King Center on Global Development hosted a conference bringing together expert researchers from all over the world to study the issue of violence and harassment against women more deeply. The keynote address was delivered by Erica Field, Professor of Economics at Duke University. Please see the full program for more details.

The event’s organizing committee was composed of Karmini Sharma (Stanford University), Alessandra Voena (Stanford University) and Emily Nix (USC Marshall).