The Benefits of Studying Costs: A Review and Agenda for Studies on the Economic Costs of Violence Against Women

This paper reviews studies on the economic costs of violence against women. By taking an economic, cost/benefit perspective, these studies provide data for evaluating services and a language effective for communicating with influential actors, including state and business leaders. They show policymakers the enormous costs resulting from not assisting victims and allowing violence against women to continue. As a result, an economic perspective has the potential to fuel widespread efforts for ending violence against women, especially in the current trends toward state and corporate cost reduction.