The impacts of violence against women on choice and agency: Evidence from Ghana and Pakistan

This article presents unique data on the economic and social impacts of Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG) in development contexts. The article draws on quantitative and qualitative data from over 5120 women in Ghana (2066 respondents) and Pakistan (3054 respondents) collected between 2016 and 2018 to assess the impacts on productivity, primarily through presenteeism and absenteeism, in paid and unpaid work due to a range of forms of VAWG. Going beyond traditional approaches that consider only the economic costs of violence, the article further considers the intangible costs to social reproduction experienced by women, families and communities due to VAWG. In particular, the article illuminates the link between violence and restrictions on women's agency that mediates many of the reproductive impacts and identifies avenues for future research to deepen knowledge on how violence translates into widespread economic and social costs through its negative impacts on productivity and reproductivity.