Intimate Partner Violence in India: Severity between States

Background and Purpose:

Nearly half of married women living in India experience Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) during the course of their marriage. Cultural norms of patriarchy, hierarchy, and female obedience in India have been charged with creating social acceptance of IPV in many regions. Due to variation in cultural norms and standards of living between regions in India, rates of IPV vary greatly from state to state. The current study seeks to explore regional differences in IPV experiences among women in India by examining the severity of abuse between the 29 states of India using 2005-2006, National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3); the Indian equivalent of Demographic and Health Survey (DHS). In doing so, the study explores the potential effect of living in eight Empowered Action Group (EAG) States that have poor economic development and poor health outcomes for women.

Methods: 

The sample for this study is a subset of women (N=65,588) who were in a union at the time of the survey and who fully completed IPV and demographic questions. Logistic multilevel modeling procedures are used to account for differences in geographic location among survivors. A 2-level model is specified for IPV severity, for individuals (i) living in States (j). Level-one predictors include age, religion, education, employment status, and household size and level-two is predicted by EAG status. The outcome variable of IPV is measured using a composite score of the severity of seven physical abuse items in the NFHS-3, scores range from 0 to 14 (M=0.81, SD=1.72). Given that the outcome variable of IPV is count in nature and incidents are rare, a Poisson distribution is selected for the analysis.

Results:

Findings indicate that the variables of religion, education, employment status, and EAG status are statistically significant predictors of IPV for women in this sample. On average, being of the Hindu faith and having any form of education are associated with a reduction in IPV severity. Living in an EAG State and being employed were the two strongest predictors in the model and are associated with an increase in IPV severity. The proportion of variance between States as measured by intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) is 0.056 or 5.6% of the total variability in IPV severity can be attributed to the state-level predictor of living in an EAG state.

Conclusions and Implications:

Results indicate that women living in an EAG State were at increased risk for IPV when compared to those living in non-EAG State. It could be that the socioeconomic and healthcare disadvantages associated with EAG States increase women’s risk of experiencing IPV. It is likely that being employed increased IPV experiences because of the conflict with the patriarchal cultural norms of India regions where women are only expected to perform household duties. Further IPV research in India should take into consideration the culture norms and variations associated with geographical location among women living in EAG states to inform interventions. This is particularly important in finding sustainable solutions that take into consideration the cultural context in addressing IPV.