Trade, Tolerance, and Transformation: How Globalization Reshapes Gender Equality and Female Homicide Victimization

• In Event: State Power, Globalization, and Homicide: Cross-National Perspectives on Violence and Social Change

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between gender equality and female homicide victimization within nations, introducing globalization as a key moderating force. Existing literature has proposed two primary explanations for this relationship: the backlash approach and the ameliorative approach. Some scholars suggest that these approaches exist along a continuum, with societal adaptation over time driving the shift. In contrast, we argue that globalization, rather than time, is the central mechanism influencing changes in gender equality and female homicide victimization. Drawing on the doux commerce thesis and the civilizing process, we theorize that globalization fosters conditions that increase societal acceptance of gender equality. Using a series of fixed-effect models, we test for direct and curvilinear effects of absolute gender equality on female homicide victimization within nations. Furthermore, we examine whether globalization moderates this relationship. The results indicate that globalization plays a significant role in reshaping gender norms and reducing female homicide victimization. These findings support the hypothesis that globalization is the fulcrum that explains the shift in the relationship between gender equality and female homicide victimization from positive to negative. This study contributes to the literature by providing new insights into how globalization shapes the relationship between gender equality and female homicide victimization.

Authors

• Meghan Lynn Rogers, University of Iowa

• Kimberly Ann Ingold, University of Iowa