Femicide Laws, Unilateral Divorce, and Abortion Decriminalization Fail to Stop Women from Being Killed in Mexico

Abstract

This paper evaluates the effectiveness of femicide laws in combating gender-based killings of women, a major cause of premature female mortality. Focusing on Mexico, a pioneer in adopting such legislation, the paper exploits variations in the enactment of femicide laws and prison sentences across states. Using the difference-in-differences estimator, the analysis reveals femicide laws have not impacted femicides, homicides, disappearances, or suicides of women. Results remain robust when considering differences in prison sentencing, states introducing unilateral divorce, equitable divorce asset compensation, or decriminalizing abortion. Findings also hold with synthetic matching, suggesting laws are insufficient to combat gender-based violence in contexts of impunity.