NFHS-6 flags surge in spousal violence in Kerala

DAta in the in style(p) subject fellowship wellness appraise (NFHS)-6 showed that the share of married women who reported experiencing spousal violence has nearly doubled in four years.While 9.8% of married women reported experiencing spousal violence in the 2019-21 NFHS, the figure rose sharply to 17.7% in the 2023-24 survey. The latest survey was conducted in Kerala between July and December 2023 and covered 13,005 households.The data also reveals a rural-urban divide. While 15.6% of women in rural areas reported experiencing violence by their spouses, the corresponding figure in urban areas was higher at 19.7%. NFHS defines “spousal violence” as physical or sexual violence.In contrast, the national average has shown a declining trend, falling from 29.2% to 22.3%, although the overall incidence remains higher than Kerala’s.Other southern states such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have also recorded a decline in spousal violence, though their overall prevalence remains higher.The NFHS-6 report also found an increase in the number of women reporting physical violence during pregnancy. While 0.5% of women surveyed reported such violence in NFHS-5, the figure has risen to 1.7% in the latest survey.The findings stand in contrast to Kerala’s performance on several key development indicators, including access to electricity, institutional births and child nutrition, where the state has consistently ranked among the country’s best performers. Kerala has also historically performed well on education and health indicators.The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) does not separately classify cases of spousal violence. Instead, such cases are recorded under the category of “cruelty by husband or relatives” under Section 85 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). According to the 2024 NCRB report, 27.2% of crimes against women were registered under this category, the highest among all crime heads, followed by kidnapping and offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.The total number of such cases in Kerala declined marginally from 4,710 in 2023 to 4,458 in 2024. In terms of crime rate per lakh population under the category, Kerala ranked sixth in the country in both years.Experts, however, point out that Kerala has consistently reported higher crime figures because of greater public awareness, better policing and higher levels of education. The 2024 NCRB report shows that Kerala recorded the country’s second-highest chargesheeting rate for crimes against women at 94.1%, behind Mizoram and Andhra Pradesh. In 2023, Kerala had recorded the highest chargesheeting rate at 95.6%.The NFHS findings are also supported by a research paper published in August 2021 based on a study among women in north Kerala. Conducted by Jesha MM, Lamiya KK and Sheela P Haveri, and published in the US-based National Library for Medicine, the study found that 29% of the 290 women interviewed had experienced at least one form of violence by their husbands.Most respondents reported emotional violence, followed by sexual and physical violence. Emotional violence included situations where husbands failed to react when members of their family insulted their wives. Slapping, reported by 11.28% of respondents, was the most common form of physical violence.The study also found that women whose husbands consumed alcohol were nearly three times more likely to face domestic violence than those whose husbands did not drink.“Domestic violence varies with the local sociocultural norms such as acceptability of physical violence at the hands of husbands, literacy level of women, women’s autonomy in decision making and limited freedom of expression,” the study said.It added that many women remain unaware of their rights or do not know where to seek help, often fearing reprisals for reporting abuse. Among its recommendations were improving girls’ education, promoting women-led self-help groups in rural areas, introducing opportunistic screening for domestic violence at primary health centres and deploying mental health professionals at grassroots health facilities.However, Kerala State Women’s Commission chairperson P Satheedevi said the latest NFHS findings were “not concerning”. Instead, she said they reflected greater confidence among women to report domestic violence.“Earlier, women were submissive. But with lots of awareness in society today, along with institutional facilities to report domestic violence, women are ready to report the day-to-day assault on them. The idea of silently suffering the violence for the sake of their children or family members is dissipating. Women want to stand on their own feet and reclaim their identity,” said Satheedevi, who is also a senior CPI(M) leader.She said Kerala had developed a strong grassroots mechanism to help women report domestic violence.“We have ‘Jagratha’ committees at the local body level with anganwadi workers as members. We train them in spreading awareness. The Women’s Commission even rewards the ‘Jagratha’ committees which perform well. There is also a dedicated portal of the women and child welfare department for reporting domestic violence,” she added.Former Kerala director general of police and the state’s first woman IPS officer R Sreelekha, however, disagreed and said the rise in spousal violence “is nothing to be proud of.”“Police officials and others may defend the statistics claiming that women are becoming more enlightened. But there’s no denying that there is a rise in the number of criminal cases with respect to domestic violence in the state. It has to stop and prevention is part of policing,” she said.The former DGP said long-term measures should include revising school curricula to teach boys to respect women and develop gender-sensitive behaviour.“It was started when I was in the police force. I don’t know what’s the status now. But it must be encouraged. We must start from childhood,” she said, underlining that societal changes will bring an end to crime against women.