The results of the National Family Health Survey-5 (2019-20) have revealed stark truths about the domestic violence inflicted on women and their muted response towards it. About 80% of women in Tamil Nadu said that their husbands were “justified” in beating them if she argued with him, refused to have sex and for other similar reasons*. As a result, about 45% of married women have experienced spousal violence, the second highest share in the country behind Karnataka. In stark contrast, only about 50% of men in Tamil Nadu felt it was justified to physically abuse their wives. Tamil Nadu womens’ acceptance of domestic violence stemmed from the fact that 48% of them had witnessed their father beating their mother — the highest such share among all States. Due to the normalisation of their husband’s behaviour, over 80% of women in T.N. neither sought help nor talked about the violence meted out to them. And even among those few who did seek help, a majority informed their relatives about their plight and not the concerned authorities. Husbands’ drinking pattern played a crucial role in the degree of violence. The more he consumed alcohol, the more was the domestic abuse.
Women justifying abuse
The chart shows the % of women who agreed that a husband was justified in hitting* his wife. With 79.8% of women justifying domestic violence, Tamil Nadu ranked third among all States in NFHS-5, behind Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.
