Domestic violence against women is a pervasive issue in India, rooted in patriarchal norms and affecting economic and intergenerational health. Approximately 50% of reported crimes against women in India are due to domestic violence, with a significant prevalence of attitudes justifying such abuse, particularly in relation to child marriage and pregnancy. The document emphasizes the need for urgent intervention and philanthropic investment to address this critical social issue through various nonprofit efforts across the country.

1. DomesƟc Violence In India
An Overview.
September 2013

2. IntroducƟon
DomesƟc Violence:
Violence against women is a widespread phenomenon around the world,
and is parƟcularly prevalent in South Asia, especially in India. Violence
against women is rooted in a gender framework that refers to widely held
expectaƟons about appropriate male and female behavior, roles and
characterisƟcs. It is not only a violaƟon of human rights, but also negaƟvely
impacts intergeneraƟonal health and mulƟplies economic burdens.
DomesƟc violence, is one of the most common forms of gender-based
violence experienced by women across the world (United NaƟons, 2006).
Also known as domesƟc abuse, spousal abuse, baƩering, family violence,
daƟng abuse, and inƟmate partner violence (IPV), it is a paƩern of behavior
which involves the abuse of one partner by another in an inƟmate relaƟonship such as marriage, cohabitaƟon, daƟng or within the family. DomesƟc
violence can take many forms, including physical aggression or assault
(hiƫng, kicking, biƟng, shoving, restraining, slapping, throwing objects,
baƩery), or threats thereof; sexual abuse; emoƟonal abuse; controlling or
domineering; inƟmidaƟon; stalking; passive/covert abuse (e.g., neglect);
and economic deprivaƟon.
Global Burden of DomesƟc Violence:
A World Bank study (1993) highlighted the cost of violence in terms of the
health burden, esƟmaƟng that rape and domesƟc violence “account for 5
percent of the healthy years of life lost to women of reproducƟve age in
demographically developing countries.”
An Inter-American Development Bank study indicated that domesƟc
violence resulted in a loss of US$1.56 billion in Chile (more than 2 percent of
Chile’s GDP in 1996), when considering only the loss of women’s wages and
a study in New Wales, Australia, esƟmated that the overall cost was Aus$1.5
billion a year (NCVAW 1993).
This limited evidence suggests that the economic implicaƟons alone are serious
enough to warrant special aƩenƟon to violence as a development priority.
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3. The Indian Context:
In India, domesƟc violence accounts for 50% of all reported crimes against
women4. (There is widespread consensus of gross under-reporƟng of these
crimes due to prevailing patriarchal structures, the actual prevalence is said
to be higher). Considering that child marriage is sƟll widely prevalent in
India, a girl experiences domesƟc violence early in life. According to NFHS-3
(NaƟonal Family and Health Survey), 33% of all women aged 15-49 have
experienced physical violence since age 15 - the number is almost 40% for
women aged 25-39. Moreover, more than half of young women and men
agree that wife beaƟng is jusƟfied if a woman disrespects her in-laws and if
she neglects the house or children. In fact, in all but 5 states, women are
equally or more likely to agree with wife beaƟng than men5. Considering
these deep-rooted inter-generaƟonal aƫtudes, there is an urgent need to
highlight this issue and direct philanthropic investment to non profits that
are successfully addressing it.
Violence during Pregnancy in India:
30
25
20
28%
15
10
“More than half of young women and men
agree that wife beaƟng is jusƟfied”
18%
5
0
Prevelence of
general violence
during pregnancy
Prevelence of IPV
during pregnancy
Causes of DomesƟc Violence:
At the very root, domesƟc violence is driven by the desire to exercise
control over another that is perceived to be weaker than the perpetrator.
Reasons perpetrators are driven to violent behaviour include:
- Gender norms and aƫtudes:
In India, the historical, underlying patriarchal system appear to be the
fundamental premise for domesƟc violence against women. Further, a
growing amount of literature acknowledges that both men and women help
propagate India's gender norms. For instance, more than half of women and
men agree with one or more reasons that jusƟfy wife beaƟng. This is further
complicated by a common belief that violent acts are an expression of love
and merely a desire to help the subject be a “beƩer” person.
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4. - Son Preference:
An unwanted pregnancy is both a cause and consequence of domesƟc
violence. VicƟms of domesƟc violence are unable to exercise choice with
regard to contracepƟon oŌen leading to unwanted pregnancies resulƟng in
further domesƟc violence. Further, due to the wide-spread societal preference for a son, a birth of a girl child oŌen leads to increased incidence of
domesƟc violence. This may manifest in the form of female feƟcide and/or
infanƟcide, healthcare seeking bias against the girl child, in addiƟon to
aggravated domesƟc violence against the mother.
- Childhood Exposure to Violence:
Having a mother who was beaten up significantly increases the risk of
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domesƟc violence in adult life as do early experiences with violence in the
immediate environment such as the community.
Various studies indicate that once the iniƟal inhibiƟon is broken, domesƟc
violence generally tends to get more frequent and severe over Ɵme. Despite
increasing occurrence over their lifeƟme, many women feel the need to stay
on and silently bear the violence due to issues of economic dependence,
societal rejecƟon, childcare, actual and perceived apathy of the police and
judiciary and ulƟmately a lack of alternaƟves including absence of support
from their own parents.
“When I was pregnant with the first
child, a girl, the
altercaƟons between
us had started and
have since conƟnued. Even with a
slight provocaƟon or
fault, he loses his
head and fights. He
tolerates nothing.”
(Source: DomesƟc Violence in India, ICRW)
Link to reproducƟve, maternal & child health:
There is a robust associaƟon between exposure to household violence and
infant and child death that could be aƩributable to the mother’s inability to care
for her child, psychological stress associated with witnessing violence, and the
use of maternal violence vicƟmizaƟon as a proxy for child violence vicƟmizaƟon.
Direct Impact on Women:
Illnesses: Women who are abused are more likely to suffer physical or
psychological illnesses including anemia, which are associated with
decreased aƩenƟon to the health needs of children
Sexual and ReproducƟve Health: Forced sex is associated with a range of
gynecological and reproducƟve health problems, including HIV and other
sexually transmiƩed infecƟons (STIs), unwanted pregnancy, vaginal bleeding or infecƟon, fibroids, decreased sexual desire, genital irritaƟon, pain
during inter course, chronic pelvic pain and urinary tract infecƟons
Lack of support: Abused women are less likely to seek health care services
and are less likely to iniƟate prenatal care early in the pregnancy and
receive a home-visit from a health worker
Mortality: Deaths due to domesƟc violence were the second-largest
cause of deaths in pregnancy (exceeded only by postpartum hemorrhage) in a community based study on maternal mortality undertaken
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in rural Maharashtra
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5. Lack of agency: Women who are beaten are most likely to be the most
powerless women. They have liƩle autonomy in terms of decision making
authority, mobility, or control over resources-in caring for themselves or for
their infants. As a consequence, their health-care seeking and nutriƟon are
compromised, and they are more likely than other women to experience
fetal mortality (this could result from miscarriage as a result of physical
violence; forced aborƟon of an unwanted pregnancy which may be the
result of lack of empowerment to access and use contracepƟves - a symptom of domesƟc violence; sex-selecƟve aborƟon etc.), to deliver babies of
low birth weight whose survival is generally uncertain, and to have less
decision-making authority or confidence in caring for their infants.
“In India, one incident of violence
translates into the woman losing
seven working days”
US NaƟonal Library of Medicine NaƟonal
InsƟtutes of Health
Direct Impact on Children:
Physical violence occurs at a startling rate during pregnancy as well. Of the
women who reported physical violence, some 50% reported that they
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experience the violence during pregnancy .
Mortality: Women who suffered violence during pregnancy were two
Ɵmes more likely than other women to miscarry, and four Ɵmes more
likely to give birth to a baby of low birth weight, a well-known predictor of
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infant mortality .
Physical and Psychological Ailments: Child exposure to family violence is
associated with increased levels of poor nutriƟonal outcomes, respiratory
infecƟons, diarrhea, and asthma as well as harmful physiologic reacƟons,
such as atypical corƟsol (a steroid hormone released as a response to
stress) producƟon paƩerns.
ReplicaƟon of behavior: More likely to use violence at school, commit
sexual assaults, and become abusers later in life.
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6. Geographical Trends:
Although domesƟc violence is a naƟonal issue, there are some states worse
affected than others. Bihar has the highest prevalence of spousal physical or
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sexual violence at 59% . Other states with prevalence higher than 40% are
Rajasthan, UƩar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Manipur & Tripura.
Sexual violence is most common in West Bengal, Rajasthan and Bihar at
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20%, or twice the naƟonal average .
A preliminary landscape analysis of non profits working on the issue of
domesƟc violence suggests that the majority seem to have a pan-India focus
with many based out of metro ciƟes such as Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.
Dasra believes that domesƟc violence ought to be treated as a naƟonal
issue, equally afflicƟng the urban and rural populaƟons in India, and for this
reason will adopt a pan-India focus while mapping the landscape of non
profits against domesƟc violence in India.
Current IntervenƟons:
Secondary research indicates that responses in the non profit sector have
aƩempted to address the pracƟcal as well as the strategic interests of
women through intervenƟons that may be categorized as PrevenƟve,
AmelioraƟve and Re-construcƟve. Common intervenƟons include empowering women through policy advocacy, campaigns, educaƟon, counseling,
legal awareness, literacy and aid; short stay homes and creches; asset
creaƟon, and mobilizaƟon of strong women’s groups. By aƩempƟng to make
domesƟc violence a part of public discourse, the non profit community has
begun to deconstruct the myth of the private nature of the problem.
Non profits such as Breakthrough, Point of view, Countercurrents, and
Majlis Bombay are doing this through innovaƟve media campaigns and
publicaƟons. Several research based non profits such as Anveshi, Centre for
social research, MARG, InsƟtute for Social work are focused on acƟon
research, documentaƟon and disseminaƟon of the issue. On-the ground
non profits such as Maitri, Akshara, Jagori and SNEHA provide amelioraƟve
and reconstrucƟve assistance to vicƟms amongst other intervenƟons.
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7. Bibliography
Too far, too liƩle, too late: a community-based case-control study of maternal mortality in rural west Maharashtra, India (1998)
DomesƟc Violence in India, ICRW (2000)
AssociaƟons between Wife-BeaƟng and Fetal and Infant Death: Impressions
from a Survey in Rural India, Shireen J. Jejeebhoy
NCRB Data, 2011
Gender equality and women’s empowerment in India, MoHFW, 2009 based
on NFHS 2005-2006
NFHS, Gender Equality and Empowerment of women, 2006
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