The Voices of Battered Women in India

Abstract

This study endeavors to give voice to marginalized, understudied women who were abused in India. The study included 90 women who were abused who were seeking help to address violence perpetrated against them by their husbands. A semistructured interview was used to collect data on abuse characteristics, consequences of abuse, and help-seeking behavior. Findings reveal that the vast majority of participants experienced daily abuse that was extremely severe, with 70% reporting they lived under the threat of murder. More than 85% reported needing medical care for their injuries. Respondents in this study sought help from a range of sources; the most effective help was provided by counseling centers and women's shelters. These findings have important implications for clinical practice and social policy.

Violence against Women - An Emerging Health Issue in North East India

“…The formulation of effective and sustainable intervention strategies to address domestic violence against women requires a comprehensive understanding of all dimensions of the problem. [2] The prevalence of domestic violence reported in the study (53.8%) is higher than as reported in other studies [8,[11][12][13][14][15][16] with verbal and physical form of violence being the maximum. Babu BV et al reported a similar prevalence of 56% among women in Bengal.…”

The “women's court” in India: an alternative dispute resolution body for women in distress

“…19. In a surprisingly high percentage of cases of domestic violence that are brought to the courts -40%, according to some studies -the husband's mother and/or other female family members allegedly participated in the abuse (Gangoli and Rew 2011, 421, citing Dave and Solanki 2000and Panchanadeswaran and Koverola 2005. 20.…”

Violence Against Women in the Militarized Indian Frontier

“…Divorce carries a major social stigma for women and their families, and thus, women are more likely to remain in abusive marriages, less likely to seek help, and more likely to tolerate abuse (Basu, 2001). Often women who seek support with their natal family find that their parents are anxious to return them to their husbands lest they bring shame on the family and ruin other siblings' marriage prospects (Panchanadeswaran & Koverola, 2005). Many women are aware of this and do not want to place financial and social burdens on their parents and siblings.…”

“…Authors link this to religious traditions, mostly Hindu. Expectations of chaste and faithful wives, of men being akin to God as husbands and to saviors as sons (Rastogi & Therly, 2006), and of the honor gained by kanyadaan, the offering of daughters to another family (Panchanadeswaran & Koverola, 2005), are seen as deeply rooted norms that reinforce patriarchy and provide the sociocultural conditions in which VAW occurs. Such norms are evident across social, political, and economic life and are institutionalized in the law, the government, and the household (Ahmed-Ghosh, 2004).…”

“…As Panchanadeswaran and Koverola (2005) write, VAW "needs to be placed in the patriarchal, patrilineal, and patrilocal . .…”