University of Missouri, St. Louis IRL @ UMSL Dissertations UMSL Graduate Works 10-18-2017 Gender Inequality, Intersectionality, and Violence Against Women: A National- and State-level Analysis of Violence Against Women Trends CheyOnna Sewell [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation Part of the Other Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons Recommended Citation Sewell, CheyOnna, "Gender Inequality, Intersectionality, and Violence Against Women: A National- and State-level Analysis of Violence Against Women Trends" (2017). Dissertations. 743. https://irl.umsl.edu/dissertation/743 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the UMSL Graduate Works at IRL @ UMSL. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of IRL @ UMSL. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Gender Inequality, Intersectionality, and Violence Against Women: A National- and State-level Analysis of Violence Against Women Trends CheyOnna Sewell M.A. in Criminology and Criminal Justice, May, 2012, University of Missouri-St. Louis B.A. in Criminal Justice and Criminology, May, 2010, University of Missouri-Kansas City A Dissertation Submitted to The Graduate School at the University of Missouri – St. Louis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Criminology and Criminal Justice May 2018 Advisory Committee: Janet Lauritsen, Ph.D. Chairperson Karlijn Kuijpers, Ph.D. Lee Slocum, Ph.D. Hillary Potter, Ph.D. TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract .............................................................................................................................. iv Disclaimer ........................................................................................................................... v Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ vi Chapter One: Introduction .................................................................................................. 1 Chapter Two: Theoretical and Literature Review .............................................................. 8 Defining Violence Against Women ................................................................................ 8 Hypotheses and Empirical Support ............................................................................... 13 Intersectionality and Violence Against Women ........................................................... 26 Chapter Three: Current Study ........................................................................................... 30 Research Questions ....................................................................................................... 30 Hypotheses .................................................................................................................... 32 Hypothesis for Research Question 2 ......................................................................... 37 Hypothesis for Research Question 3 ......................................................................... 40 Hypothesis for Research Question 4 ......................................................................... 45 Chapter Four: Data and Methods ...................................................................................... 50 National-Level .............................................................................................................. 50 Variables and Data .................................................................................................... 51 Analyses .................................................................................................................... 60 Chapter Five: National-Level Analyses ............................................................................ 63 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 63 Descriptive Statistics ..................................................................................................... 65 Violence Against Women Trends ............................................................................. 66 Status Trends ............................................................................................................. 78 Findings......................................................................................................................... 82 Total Women ............................................................................................................ 82 White Women ........................................................................................................... 89 Black Women ........................................................................................................... 93 Hispanic Women ....................................................................................................... 99 Cross-racial comparisons ........................................................................................ 102 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 104 Chapter Six: State-Level Analyses ................................................................................. 107 ii Descriptive Statistics ................................................................................................... 108 Findings....................................................................................................................... 114 Total Women .......................................................................................................... 115 White Women ......................................................................................................... 116 Black Women.......................................................................................................... 118 Cross-racial Comparisons ....................................................................................... 121 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 123 Chapter Seven: Discussion and Conclusion ................................................................... 126 Standard Hypotheses ................................................................................................... 127 National-Level ........................................................................................................ 128 State-Level .............................................................................................................. 135 Intersectionality........................................................................................................... 139 The Future of Gender Inequality and Violence against Women Research ................. 141 References ....................................................................................................................... 151 Appendix A ..................................................................................................................... 157 Appendix B ..................................................................................................................... 159 Appendix C ..................................................................................................................... 167 Appendix D ..................................................................................................................... 171 Appendix E ..................................................................................................................... 200 Appendix F...................................................................................................................... 222 Appendix G ..................................................................................................................... 228 iii ABSTRACT Violence against women declined with other forms of violence during the 1990s. Nevertheless, the most popular macro-level theory regarding violence against women, which suggests that changes in gender inequality are associated with changes in the level of violence against women, has been studied primarily cross-sectionally and with mixed findings. In fact, the nature of the relationship between gender inequality and violence against women is undecided. One hypothesis, amelioration, suggests that as gender inequality decreases, and the genders become more equal, violence against women will also decrease (the inverse is also true that as gender inequality increases, violence against women will also increase). Another hypothesis, backlash, suggests that as gender inequality decreases, and the genders become more equal, violence against women will increase. Amidst the mixed findings have been notable conclusions that have found that the relationship may be race-specific and/or dependent on the victim-offender relationship. This project uses the intersectionality perspective, as introduced by Black Feminist scholars to take into account these important findings and thoroughly investigate the relationship between gender inequality and violence against women. I use multiple datasets, investigate fatal and non-fatal forms of violence against women, investigate the relationship at the national- and state-level, incorporate race-specific trends of violence against women, and use gender inequality indicators that are informed by intersectionality.