Read, Digital Desk : The latest data from National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) have thrown light on the alarming situation of domestic violence faced by women.
As per the report Karnataka has achieved the greatest drop in cases of marital violence by husbands at country level.
30% reduction in marital violence
While in NFHS-5 (2019-21), 44.4% of married women reported experiencing violence by their husbands in Karnataka, the number stands at 14.1% in NFHS-6 (2023-24). It is about 30 percentage points of decline, the highest among any state in the country.
At the national level too, the scenario has improved with the incidence of marital violence dropping from 29.2% to 22.3% across the country.
Karnataka was in the worst state
Karnataka was the most problematic state at country level with regard to domestic violence in NFHS-5. The situation at that time also seemed disturbing with high percentage recorded from Bihar (40.1%), Tamil Nadu (38.1%), Telangana (37.2%) and Chhattisgarh.
But in NFHS-6, Karnataka has now gone below the national average. At the same time Bihar (36.1%), Telangana (30.8%), and Tamil Nadu (28.5%) stand among the worst affected states.
What caused this huge and sudden decline?
The drop of 30 percentage points from Karnataka’s NFHS-5 level in just one survey round surprised even the experts. Such a sharp fall in marital violence cannot usually happen over a short period, especially not in social surveys.
Comparing the NFHS-5 and NFHS-6, no change was observed in the phrasing of the questions or the survey methodology. So, it cannot be assumed that the reason for this fall in numbers is merely technical.
Women’s empowerment cited as reason
Professor CM Lakshmana, head of Population Research Centre, Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), attributed the fall to the success of a number of social reforms.
As per Professor CM Lakshmana, this change has happened on account of decreased cases of child marriage, improvement in women’s literacy, economic and digital inclusion and better involvement of women in household decision making.
Marginal improvement in Bihar
According to NFHS-6, there is a drop in the cases of marital violence in Bihar too.
NFHS-5: 40.1%
NFHS-6: 36.1%
This constitutes a decline of about 4 percentage points.
However, this is still 14 percentage points higher than the national average of 22.3%, which still puts Bihar as a severely affected state as far as women’s safety at home is concerned.
State government blames success of women’s self-help groups, education, digital inclusion and local awareness programs. Social activists argue that the prevailing patriarchy, economic dependence and alcoholism are still major hurdles.
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