Unravelling the Factors of Acceptance of Violence in Marriage by Women: Insights on Deficit of Reporting Cases of Domestic Violence in Empowered Action Group (EAG) and States of South India
| Published date | 01 October 2024 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/25166069241285152 |
| Author | Deeksha Bajpai Tewari,Upma Gautam,Priya Das |
| Date | 01 October 2024 |
Unravelling the Factors
of Acceptance of Violence
in Marriage by Women:
Insights on Deficit of
Reporting Cases of
Domestic Violence in
Empowered Action
Group (EAG) and States
of South India
Deeksha Bajpai Tewari1, Upma Gautam2 and Priya Das3
Abstract
Globally, 30% women, in a relationship, have been experiencing both physical and
sexual violence by their intimate partners, particularly in the South-East Asian
region. The grave reality of violence in marriage is the acceptance and justifica-
tion of wife beating by women themselves. Recent cross-sectional studies have
pointed out that a woman’s acceptance of wife abuse is related to her actual
experience of being a victim, such that the victims of violence are perhaps more
likely to justify the behaviour. This study analyses the role, if any, played by meas-
ures of women’s autonomy, access and freedom in impacting the acceptance of
wife beating in marriage by women. This is undertaken in the background of dif-
ferent levels of human development attained in different groups of states in India.
Two groups of states are identified: (a) one group of states represented by states
of South India—scoring above national average figures in all parameters of human
development including measures of gender empowerment. (b) Second group of
states represented by the Empowered Action Group states—scoring lower than
national average figures in all parameters of human development, including meas-
ures of gender empowerment. Indicators selected related to women’s access to
Original Article
Journal of Victimology
and Victim Justice
7(2) 205–232, 2024
2024 National Law
University Delhi
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/25166069241285152
journals.sagepub.com/home/vvj
1 Department of Geography, Dyal Singh College, University of Delhi, New Delhi, Delhi, India
2 University School of Law and Legal Studies, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New
Delhi, Delhi, India
3 Symbiosis Law School, Noida, Symbiosis International University, Pune, Maharashtra, India
Corresponding author:
Upma Gautam, University School of Law and Legal Studies, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha
University, New Delhi, Delhi 110078, India.
E-mail: findupma@gmail.com
206 Journal of Victimology and Victim Justice 7(2)
microcredit, freedom of movement, ownership of assets, employment status and
literacy levels. In addition, the proportion of households in a state in the lowest
quintile also was selected as a factor of wealth. This study further analyses the
role that acceptance of violence in marriage by women plays in explaining the
deficit in reporting cases of domestic violence in the selected group of states.
Keywords
Justice, law and legal, victimization, victim protection
Introduction
Amrita is a doting homemaker wife of Vikram. To celebrate Vikram’s promotion, they
throw a party at their residence, in which Vikram is informed that his promotion has
been compromised. Unable to take the news, he gets into an argument with his boss.
When Amrita tries to intervene, Vikram slaps her in front of everyone.
Amrita is shaken by the incident to the core. Her husband refuses to account for his
actions and considers the incident of slapping as normal, which happens sometimes. It
is also stated by a character casually, that slapping (a woman) in a marital relationship
is an expression of love and not something to hullabaloo about.
The irony which is also unfortunately the reality is that initially the other women
characters such as her mother, mother-in-law and even her lawyer, ask Amrita to ‘for-
get and move on’ thus normalizing the act of violence and accepting it instead of con-
demning it. However, Amrita refuses to forget that one slap and instead of ‘moving on’,
moves away from her marriage by seeking divorce.4
The normalization and acceptance of violence in marriage by a woman is not a
rarity, in fact, 45.4% of women in India consider wife beating to be just.5 In south-
ern states such as Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, the proportion of women
accepting wife beating is as high as 83.8% and 83.6%, respectively.6 In a nation
that has reached a high level of social and economic development and claims to
have achieved gender equality, it is unexpected to find that the number of women
who possess zero tolerance for wife beating, or Amritas, is in the minority.
The socio-legal connotation of violence in marriage is largely based on the
premise that the perpetrator is the husband while the victim is the wife. The basis
of this connotation is not unfounded as is evidenced by the National Family
Health Survey (NFHS-5) data—only 3% of women have reported to have perpe-
trated spousal violence, in contrast to 31.9% of women experiencing spousal
violence.7
Violence in marriage can take multiple forms including physical, emotional,
mental, financial and sexual abuse. The legal landscape in India takes note of the
4 Thappad (available on Amazon Prime Video).
5 International Institute of Population Studies, National Family Health Survey 5, 2019–20.
6 Id.
7 Indian Institute of Population Studies, National Family Health Survey-5 India Report 2019–21
(Government of India, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare) 683.
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