Information Nudges and Domestic Violence: An Experimental Intervention in the Field

Governments frequently employ information campaigns to combat domestic violence. Despite the prevalence of these information nudges, there is little evidence in the literature that can speak to their effectiveness. The study employs a survey experiment where participants are (i) presented with vignettes systematically varying descriptions of situations involving physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner to assess respondents’ beliefs, attitudes, and intended behaviors regarding the presented scenarios; (ii) randomly assigned with equal probability to either the nudge group or the no-information group. The nudge group receives information against domestic violence typical of governmental campaigns. The study investigates (i) whether a governmental campaign designed to counter domestic violence reduces the justifiability and perceived severity of domestic violence; (ii) whether such a campaign increases trust in institutions to assist victims of domestic violence; (iii) whether it enhances awareness of support networks for victims; (iv) whether it increases the perception of escaping violence; and (v) whether these effects are more pronounced when violence is more explicit (physical violence versus stalking). Lastly, the study defines the population of compliers based on within-couple declared and actual differences in gender norms.