The “Patriarchy of the Wage” and Intimate Partner Violence: Evidence from Brazil

Christopher Brehm, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Sexist violence has been reconceptualized by feminist movements in Latin America, who see the decline of the “patriarchy of the wage” in a neoliberal context as a key driver behind it. In this view, sexist violence is exacerbated by two intertwined mechanisms: the need of men to secure reproductive labor, and male emotional backlash to the devaluation of their identity. This study sets out to establish the relationship between men’s reduced ability to command authority through the wage and the likelihood that women experience Intimate Partner Violence. Using person-level data from the Violence and Accident Surveillance module of Brazil’s National Disease Notification System (VIVA-SINAN) for the years 2009-2015, and looking specifically at female victims of violence perpetuated by males in the states of Rio Grande do Norte and Ceará between the ages of 15 and 49, I found a significant positive effect between budget reforms and proportion of violence among women aged 15-49 attributed to a male romantic partner. The difference-in-difference effect of budget reforms increased the probability of violence against women being perpetrated by a male intimate partner by 10.9%. Additionally, the model found statistically significant effects for reform, year, age, education, race, marriage, and male unemployment.

Keywords: Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights, Population Policies, Population and Development, The Demography of Indigenous Populations

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