Women’s Health
Impact of the Dobbs Decision on Violent Victimization Among Young Women and Girls in the United States: Evidence from NCVRS (2017–2023) Parvati Singh* Parvati Singh Singh The Ohio State University
The 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision reshaped reproductive rights in the United States and raised concerns about downstream effects on women’s safety. Structural violence theory suggests that policies restricting bodily autonomy create conditions that elevate vulnerability to harm by reducing agency and reinforcing power imbalances. Reproductive coercion theory further explains how limitations on reproductive choice can intensify control dynamics within intimate relationships, increasing risk for violence. Prior research indicates that younger women and those from lower-resource groups may experience disproportionate impacts of Dobbs through diminished autonomy, which may compound existing vulnerabilities.
We analyzed data from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVRS) from 2017–2023 (N = 611,578; weighted population ≈ 699 million) using a difference-in-differences design. The treated group included females aged 12–34 years (comparison group being similarly aged males), and the treatment period began in June 2022 (1 for June 2022 onward, 0 prior). The outcome measured violent victimization as a binary indicator. Logistic regression models adjusted for race, continuous age, region, rurality, employment, marital status, and year, month fixed effects with survey weights.
Results indicate that after Dobbs, younger reproductive-aged females (<34 years) faced a 19% higher likelihood of violent victimization compared to pre-Dobbs and relative to males (OR = 1.194, p < 0.05). Effects appeared strongest among non-White females with less than high school education (OR = 1.44, p 35 y) and for higher of exposure to property crime post Dobbs in younger females. These results suggest that reductions in bodily autonomy may amplify violence risks among younger females and underscore the need for policy responses that integrate reproductive health protections with violence prevention strategies.
