This paper reports evidence on Gender-Based Violence (GBV), violence against
women by husband or male partner, based on household surveys from many countries.
A woman’s risk of experiencing domestic violence varies, within a country and
between countries, for many reasons. This paper focuses on religion: in particular,
comparing Catholics with Protestants. It reports evidence that Catholic women have
a higher risk of GBV than Protestant women. A possible explanation for this higher
risk is investigated: the ban on divorce by the Catholic Church. Household surveys
confirm that Catholics are less likely than Protestants to divorce. Divorce is a possible
escape-route for a woman abused by her husband; preventing divorce keeps
many women trapped in marriage to a violent husband.