Violence at home: Mum's the word

Violence at home: Mum's the word
PANAJI: Strange but true. The National Family Health Survey (NFHS) 3, reveals that only 25% of women in Goa who have ever experienced domestic
violence have sought help to end it, while more than three out of five women in the state have neither sought help nor told anyone about incidents of domestic violence that they might have experienced.

The study reveals that abused women most often seek help from their own family, while a meagre five per cent prefer police intervention. Incidentally, this rating is higher than the national average of two per cent.

Among women aged between 15 to 49 years of age, 14 % have ever experienced physical violence and two per cent have ever experienced sexual violence. About 12% of women have reported experiencing spousal emotional violence. It would be interesting to note that the prevalence of physical and sexual violence is lower in Goa than in any other state in India, except Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

The survey also reveals that while the incidence of men abusing women is high, two per cent of married women are also reported to have initiated violence against their husbands. Data obtained suggests that most women who are victims of domestic violence are those with no education (36%) and with low wealth (33 to 39%).

Further, more than one-fifth (54%) of women whose husbands consume alcohol experience spousal violence, compared to the eight per cent of those whose husbands don't drink. The irony is that 39% of women, as compared to 35 % men, believe that it is justifiable for a husband to beat his wife under some circumstances. What is most ironical however, is that around 26% of women believe that wife beating is justified if she neglects the house or children, while 22% of the fairer sex accept beating if they show disrespect to their in-laws.

Data also indicates that one in three women and one in two men don't agree that a woman has the right to refuse sex to her husband.
17 Jan 2009,The Times of India, Goa edition