Does Women's Perception of Domestic Violence Have a Bearing on Reproductive Health and Health Seeking Practice in India? -- An Exploration Based on NFHS-2 Data

Nandini Roy, UNIFEM
Damodar Sahu, Institute for Research in Medical Statistics (ICMR)

In India, family is sacrosanct and its functioning are beyond the purview of public debate. However, recent spurt in literature shows that family is increasingly becoming a ground for intense violence. The World Bank approximation is that rape and domestic violence accounts for 5 % of the healthy years of life by women. This abuse continues as society accepts it a norm and women justify them. The paper examines the association between Women's perception of Domestic Violence with utilization of Health Service, based on Data Collected under National Family Health Survey, 1998-99, India. As expected, proportion of women who agree that wife beating is justified declines with the increase in standard of living. About one-fourth of women reported to have experienced violence since age 15 and majority reported husband has inflicted violence on them. Multivariate study showed that health care utilization is lower among women who have experienced violence.