Public salience mobilizes nationwide responses to violence against women
Authors: Augusto Cerqua, Marco Letta, Costanza Giannantoni, Gabriele Pinto
Abstract
Does public salience around femicides mobilize societal responses or trigger further harm through imitation? Using newly assembled case-level data on femicides in Italy from 2017 to 2024, we study the nationwide consequences of the most salient cases for help-seeking, police reporting, and lethal violence. We find that highly salient intimate partner femicides (IPFs) generate nationwide increases in help-seeking, and that an exceptionally salient IPF also leads to a marked rise in police reports of violence against women. Yet we find no evidence of an increase in femicides-a pattern inconsistent with copycat theories. Responses are strongest during periods of peak salience. No comparable mobilization follows a lower-salience IPF, a similarly salient femicide committed by family members, a highly salient killing of a woman not classified as a femicide, or a lower-salience falsification case. Together, these comparisons indicate that mobilization depends on salience intensity, the victim-perpetrator relationship, and the gendered nature of the violence, rather than reflecting a generic response to salient violent crime. These findings suggest that public salience can contribute to prevention strategies against gender-based violence without amplifying lethal violence.
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The study examines how social representations and organizational conditions shape police responses to femicide in Brazil, rather than nationwide public mobilization in Italy.
Abstract
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Abstract
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The study analyzes Italian press framing of group sexual violence, while this paper measures media salience around femicides and its effects on public responses.
Abstract
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Abstract
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Abstract
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Abstract
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The study examines how press narratives about confessed femicide perpetrators distort evidence in Mexico, while this paper studies public responses to salient femicides in Italy.
Abstract
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Gendered Victimization and Institutional Response to Cybercrime: Evidence from Faisalabad, Punjab, PakistanFaseeha Fatima, Jaffar Hussain · 2026 · Kashmir Journal of Academic Research and Development · Not summarized yet
The study investigates gendered barriers to cybercrime reporting in Pakistan, while this paper measures changes in reporting after salient violence against women in Italy.
Abstract
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