How women grin and bear it

NEW DELHI: Can you believe this? Women say it’s okay if their husbands beat them up for reasons ranging from refusing sex to burning the food.

This is what an Unicef study has to stay in a stunning revelation where a large number of women across the world justify domestic violence.

The Unicef report — Progress For Children — shows just how much women across the globe have internalised violence. Almost 50% felt that a husband or partner was justified in beating them under certain circumstances.

Almost 36% women across 57 countries said domestic violence was okay if a wife neglected the children and 31% found beating to be alright if a wife went out without telling her husband. About 29% women condoned beating in case a woman argued with her husband and 19% said beating was valid if a woman refused to have sex or burnt the food.

Interestingly, a majority of those who approved of wife-bashing were women in the age group of 15 to 39.

“Women’s response to abuse reflects their relatively fewer options to change or end the relationship and their assessment of how best to protect themselves and their children.

Ending domestic violence requires changing attitudes that permit such abuse, developing legal and policy frameworks to prohibit and reject it, and improving women’s access to economic resources and girls’ access to education,” the Unicef report says.

This report corroborates the National Family Health Survey-3 which points out that 40% of women face domestic abuse and almost 55% say it was warranted.  

According to the figures, 62% experienced physical or sexual violence within the first two years of marriage, while 32% faced violence in the first five years.

“This shows how women have internalised violence from childhood itself. It is a dangerous and worrying situation,” said Ranjana Kumari, director of the Centre for Social Research.

The only redeeming fact is a slight shift in attitudes since 2000 when the last survey was conducted. In 2005, 54% Indian women justified domestic violence as compared to 56% in 2000. Figures are also down in Armenia, Nepal, Malawi, Haiti and Ethopia, though more women in Cambodia are justifying wife-beating now than before.

Protecting kids from parents
The same report also states that 86% children aged 2-14 years who were surveyed in 29 countries said they were subjected to violent discipline at home. More than half had been violently disciplined and one in five kids had experienced severe physical punishment.

The ministry of women and child development (WCD) has decided to provide protection to children under the Protection of Women against the Domestic Violence Act.

Children under the age of 18 can seek protection orders from a court if they face violence at home. “Whether it’s witnessing violence between family members or facing abuse themselves, children will have the right to seek protection from courts,” WCD minister Renuka Chowdhury said.