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IZA Discussion Paper No. 18394
February 2026
Burning Rage: How Heat Shapes Gender-Based Violence
Carmen Aina, Lavinia Parisi, Matteo Picchio

Gender-based violence (GBV) remains a critical threat to women's safety and equality worldwide, yet the role of climate and environmental stressors in shaping violence against women remains underexplored, particularly in developed countries. This study identifies the causal impact of short-run temperature fluctuations on GBV in Italy using ten years of province-level data (2013-2022) on helpline calls and femicides and a two-way fixed effects estimation strategy. We find that higher temperatures increase both help-seeking behavior and lethal GBV. Accounting for nighttime temperatures shows that elevated minimum temperatures are particularly consequential relative to daytime heat. Heterogeneity analyses indicate that temperature effects are not uniform across provinces, with evidence of differential responses along selected dimensions related to adaptation and socio-economic context. Overall, the results highlight the relevance of considering climate-related stressors within violence prevention and social protection frameworks, even in high-income countries.

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Mark Fallak
mark.fallak@liser.lu
+352 585-855-526
World of Labour
Olga Nottmeyer
olga.nottmeyer@liser.lu
+352 585-855-501
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Christina Gathmann
christina.gathmann@liser.lu

The IZA@LISER Network is a global community of scholars dedicated to excellence in labor economics and related fields, now coordinated at the Luxembourg Institute of Socio-Economic Research (LISER) following its transition from Bonn.

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