Andrea Velásquez, Assistant Professor of Economics, recently published an op-ed titled, “When Violence Goes Up the Income Gap Widens. Something Needs to Be Done,” in Initiative for Policy Dialogue. The piece discusses how global murder rates have declined steadily over the last two decades but still account for more than 2 percent of global deaths, or roughly 1.3 million people each year. But while most murder victims are men, women are disproportionally abused sexually and psychologically, violence that leaves its own profound scars on families and societies. And during armed conflicts, gender-based violence can easily increase.