Domes�c Violence In India An Overview.September 2013

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Introduc�on

Violence against women is a widespread phenomenon around the world, and is par�cularly prevalent in South Asia, especially in India. Violence against women is rooted in a gender framework that refers to widely held expecta�ons about appropriate male and female behavior, roles and characteris�cs. It is not only a viola�on of human rights, but also nega�vely impacts intergenera�onal health and mul�plies economic burdens.

Domes�c violence, is one of the most common forms of gender-based violence experienced by women across the world (United Na�ons, 2006). Also known as domes�c abuse, spousal abuse, ba�ering, family violence, da�ng abuse, and in�mate partner violence (IPV), it is a pa�ern of behavior which involves the abuse of one partner by another in an in�mate rela�on-ship such as marriage, cohabita�on, da�ng or within the family. Domes�c violence can take many forms, including physical aggression or assault (hi�ng, kicking, bi�ng, shoving, restraining, slapping, throwing objects, ba�ery), or threats thereof; sexual abuse; emo�onal abuse; controlling or domineering; in�mida�on; stalking; passive/covert abuse (e.g., neglect); and economic depriva�on.

Domes�c Violence:

A World Bank study (1993) highlighted the cost of violence in terms of the health burden, es�ma�ng that rape and domes�c violence “account for 5 percent of the healthy years of life lost to women of reproduc�ve age in demographically developing countries.”

An Inter-American Development Bank study indicated that domes�cviolence 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, es�mated that the overall cost was Aus$1.5 billion a year (NCVAW 1993).

This limited evidence suggests that the economic implica�ons alone are serious enough to warrant special a�en�on to violence as a development priority.

Global Burden of Domes�c Violence:

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In India, domes�c violence accounts for 50% of all reported crimes against women4. (There is widespread consensus of gross under-repor�ng of these crimes due to prevailing patriarchal structures, the actual prevalence is said to be higher). Considering that child marriage is s�ll widely prevalent in India, a girl experiences domes�c violence early in life. According to NFHS-3 (Na�onal 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 bea�ng is jus�fied 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 bea�ng than men5. Considering these deep-rooted inter-genera�onal a�tudes, there is an urgent need to highlight this issue and direct philanthropic investment to non profits that are successfully addressing it.

The Indian Context:

At the very root, domes�c 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 a�tudes:In India, the historical, underlying patriarchal system appear to be the fundamental premise for domes�c 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 jus�fy wife bea�ng. 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 “be�er” person.

Causes of Domes�c Violence:

Violence during Pregnancy in India:

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

Prevelence of general violence

during pregnancy

Prevelence of IPV during pregnancy

18%

28%“More than half of young women and men

agree that wife bea�ng is jus�fied”

- Son Preference:An unwanted pregnancy is both a cause and consequence of domes�c violence. Vic�ms of domes�c violence are unable to exercise choice with regard to contracep�on o�en leading to unwanted pregnancies resul�ng in further domes�c violence. Further, due to the wide-spread societal prefer-ence for a son, a birth of a girl child o�en leads to increased incidence of domes�c violence. This may manifest in the form of female fe�cide and/or infan�cide, healthcare seeking bias against the girl child, in addi�on to aggravated domes�c violence against the mother.

- Childhood Exposure to Violence:Having a mother who was beaten up significantly increases the risk of domes�c violence in adult life5 as do early experiences with violence in the immediate environment such as the community.

Various studies indicate that once the ini�al inhibi�on is broken, domes�c violence generally tends to get more frequent and severe over �me. Despite increasing occurrence over their life�me, many women feel the need to stay on and silently bear the violence due to issues of economic dependence, societal rejec�on, childcare, actual and perceived apathy of the police and judiciary and ul�mately a lack of alterna�ves including absence of support from their own parents.

There is a robust associa�on between exposure to household violence and infant and child death that could be a�ributable to the mother’s inability to care for her child, psychological stress associated with witnessing violence, and the use of maternal violence vic�miza�on as a proxy for child violence vic�miza�on.

Link to reproduc�ve, maternal & child health:

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 a�en�on to the health needs of children

Sexual and Reproduc�ve Health: Forced sex is associated with a range of gynecological and reproduc�ve health problems, including HIV and other sexually transmi�ed infec�ons (STIs), unwanted pregnancy, vaginal bleed-ing or infec�on, fibroids, decreased sexual desire, genital irrita�on, pain during inter course, chronic pelvic pain and urinary tract infec�ons

Lack of support: Abused women are less likely to seek health care services and are less likely to ini�ate prenatal care early in the pregnancy and receive a home-visit from a health worker

Mortality: Deaths due to domes�c violence were the second-largest cause of deaths in pregnancy (exceeded only by postpartum hemor-rhage) in a community based study on maternal mortality undertaken in rural Maharashtra1

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(Source: Domes�c Violence in India, ICRW)

“When I was preg-nant with the first

child, a girl, the alterca�ons between

us had started and have since con�n-ued. Even with a

slight provoca�on or fault, he loses his

head and fights. He tolerates nothing.”

Physical violence occurs at a startling rate during pregnancy as well. Of the women who reported physical violence, some 50% reported that they experience the violence during pregnancy2.

Direct Impact on Children:

Lack of agency: Women who are beaten are most likely to be the most powerless women. They have li�le 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 nutri�on 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 abor�on of an unwanted pregnancy which may be the result of lack of empowerment to access and use contracep�ves - a symp-tom of domes�c violence; sex-selec�ve abor�on 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.

Mortality: Women who suffered violence during pregnancy were two �mes more likely than other women to miscarry, and four �mes more likely to give birth to a baby of low birth weight, a well-known predictor of infant mortality3.

Physical and Psychological Ailments: Child exposure to family violence is associated with increased levels of poor nutri�onal outcomes, respiratory infec�ons, diarrhea, and asthma as well as harmful physiologic reac�ons, such as atypical cor�sol (a steroid hormone released as a response to stress) produc�on pa�erns.

Replica�on of behavior: More likely to use violence at school, commit sexual assaults, and become abusers later in life.

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“In India, one incident of violence translates into the woman losing

seven working days”US Na�onal Library of Medicine Na�onal

Ins�tutes of Health

Although domes�c violence is a na�onal issue, there are some states worse affected than others. Bihar has the highest prevalence of spousal physical or sexual violence at 59%5. Other states with prevalence higher than 40% are Rajasthan, U�ar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Manipur & Tripura. Sexual violence is most common in West Bengal, Rajasthan and Bihar at 20%, or twice the na�onal average5.

A preliminary landscape analysis of non profits working on the issue of domes�c violence suggests that the majority seem to have a pan-India focus with many based out of metro ci�es such as Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata.

Dasra believes that domes�c violence ought to be treated as a na�onal issue, equally afflic�ng the urban and rural popula�ons in India, and for this reason will adopt a pan-India focus while mapping the landscape of non profits against domes�c violence in India.

Geographical Trends:

Secondary research indicates that responses in the non profit sector have a�empted to address the prac�cal as well as the strategic interests of women through interven�ons that may be categorized as Preven�ve, Ameliora�ve and Re-construc�ve. Common interven�ons include empower-ing women through policy advocacy, campaigns, educa�on, counseling, legal awareness, literacy and aid; short stay homes and creches; asset crea�on, and mobiliza�on of strong women’s groups. By a�emp�ng to make domes�c 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 innova�ve media campaigns and publica�ons. Several research based non profits such as Anveshi, Centre for social research, MARG, Ins�tute for Social work are focused on ac�on research, documenta�on and dissemina�on of the issue. On-the ground non profits such as Maitri, Akshara, Jagori and SNEHA provide ameliora�ve and reconstruc�ve assistance to vic�ms amongst other interven�ons.

Current Interven�ons:

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Bibliography

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Too far, too li�le, too late: a community-based case-control study of mater-nal mortality in rural west Maharashtra, India (1998)

Domes�c Violence in India, ICRW (2000)

Associa�ons between Wife-Bea�ng 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