Underreporting of Intimate Partner Violence in Brazil

Abstract

According to WHO (2013), in general 30% of all women worldwide who have been in a relationship have experienced physical and/or sexual violence by their intimate partner. However, only a small percentage of intimate partner violence (IPV) victims report it to the police. This phenomenon of under-reporting is known as ``dark figure''. This paper aims to investigate the factors associated with the reporting decision of IPV victims to the police in Brazil using the third wave of the ``Pesquisa de Condições Socioeconômicas e Violência Doméstica e Familiar contra a Mulher ($PCSVDF^{Mulher}$)''. Using a bivariate probit regression model with sample selection, we found that older white women, those who do not tolerate domestic violence, and women who have experienced physical violence are more likely to report IPV to the police. In contrast, married women, those with partners who abuse alcohol and those who witnessed or knew that their mothers had experienced IPV, are less likely to report it to law enforcement.