Julia A. Behrman|Amber Peterman|Tia Palermo
Does Keeping Adolescent Girls in School Protect Against Sexual Violence? Quasi-Experimental Evidence From East and Southern Africa
New York University|Stony Brook University|State University of New York
examine relationship educational attainment adolescence young womens lifetime experience sexual violence malawi ugandaexposure universal primary education policies mid1990s serves natural experiment estimate causal effect schooling womens subsequent experience sexual violence using instrumented regression discontinuity design demographic health survey datawe find oneyear increase grade attainment leads ninepercentage point reduction p 05 probability ever experiencing sexual violence sample 1028 ugandan women aged 1829 years estimate considerably larger observational estimates find effect grade attainment ever experiencing sexual violence among sample 4413 malawian women aged 1931 years addition find relationship grade attainment 12month sexual violence either country analysis pathways indicates increased grade attainment increases literacy experience premarital sex malawi reduces probability ever married countrieskeeping girls school results number benefits young women however protects lifetime experience sexual violence uganda possible overall higher grade attainment particularly secondary school levels driving effect uganda research relationship needed well effective interventions particularly taken scale related enhancing quality quantity education