Criminal Psychology PSDA 1

Topic – A systematic review on domestic violence against

women

Name – Anika Tyagi

Enrollment number- A3211119097
Section – B
Course – BA LLB Hons

INDEX
 Topic

INTRODUCTION

VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN INDIA:

Violence occurs in about 35 per cent of women globally in their
lifetime.
  In a study done in India, on about 10000 women, 26 per
cent reported having experienced physical violence from
spouses during their lifetime.
 The prevalence could be as high as 45 per cent as
indicated by data from Uttar Pradesh.
 Every hour, at least two women are sexually assaulted and
every six hours, a young married woman is beaten to
death, burnt or driven to suicide.
 It is appalling to learn that 28.4 per cent of pregnant
women suffer domestic violence.
 Multi-Country Study on Women’s Health and Domestic
Violence Against Women by the World Health
Organization (WHO) reported that 40 and 60 per cent of
women surveyed in Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Peru, Samoa,
Thailand and Tanzania revealed that they had been
physically and/or sexually abused by their close partnern.

“United Nations defines ‘violence against women’ as “any act

of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result
in, physical, sexual or mental harm or suffering to women,
including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary
deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private
life”.
The role of health professionals in providing care for the
survivors can be better understood and addressed from the
perspective of the WHO definition of ‘health’, which defines it
as ‘an individual’s state of physical, mental and social well-
being:
 Physical health: Intimate partner violence with sexual
violence is associated with high risk of pregnancy, sexually
transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV infection9. Hence,
there is a need to sensitize the doctors who will be able to
immediately initiate prophylaxis for pregnancy, STDs and
post-HIV exposure in survivors. Other symptoms which
need to be addressed, include wounds, lacerations, cuts,
bruises, contusions, menstrual disorders, vaginal
discharge, dizziness, severe sexual dysfunction, and
memory loss.
 Mental health: In a survey, 40 per cent of the survivors
had poor mental health10. Violence leads to mental
disorders such as depression, post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD), anxiety disorders, self-harm and sleep
disorders.
 Social well-being: Social and economic costs of intimate
partner and sexual violence have serious implications
throughout our society13. A survey showed that only 25
per cent survivors sought help to end violence, whereas 33
per cent never told anyone14. The survivors hardly ever
 approached the police, yet felt secure in seeking physical
health care in hospital settings.
 Comprehensive care for survivors (CCS): Health and
Family Welfare department of all states should work in
liaison with judiciary, women and child welfare
department, social welfare department, police
department and NGOs to provide comprehensive care for
survivors. All the sensitive issues rising out of the violence
including crisis intervention, physical and mental care,
legal aid, socio-economic support, temporary shelter, child
custody, re-integration into society, confidence building,
counselling, psychosocial support, family therapy, sexual
counselling, vocational rehabilitation and follow up care
should be delivered under one roof.

Violence against women creates a sense of insecurity and fear

in the community. The complex issue can be tackled by
providing comprehensive care pro-actively. A multi-dimensional
and multi-agency team including access to psychosocial support
is to be made available to deliver holistic care under one roof in
district hospital setting. Also implementing primary prevention
programmers such as life skills training programmed, gender
sensitization and sex education in all schools and colleges will
go a long way.
Literature Review on violence Against
Women:

To systematically review the worldwide evidence on the

prevalence of domestic violence against women, to evaluate
the quality of studies, and to account for variation in
prevalence between studies, using consistent definitions and
explicit, rigorous methods.
Systematic review of prevalence studies on domestic violence
against women. Literature searches of 6 databases were
undertaken for the period 1995 to 2006.
Domestic violence (DV) is prevalent among women in India and
has been associated with poor mental and physical health.
We performed a systematic review of 137 quantitative studies
published in the prior decade that directly evaluated the DV
experiences of Indian women to summaries the breadth of
recent work and identify gaps in the literature.
Among studies surveying at least two forms of abuse, a median
41% of women reported experiencing DV during their lifetime
and 30% in the past year. We noted substantial inter-study
variance in DV prevalence estimates, attributable in part to
different study populations and settings, but also to a lack of
standardisation, validation, and cultural adaptation of DV
survey instruments.
Violence against women in the Covid-19
pandemic:
The COVID-19 outbreak has only worsened the case. The National
Commission for Women (NCW) registered an increase of 94 per cent in
complaint cases where women were assaulted in their homes during
the lockdown. Therefore, owing to the pandemic, nearly half a billion
women are at risk in India.
Domestic violence, a prevalent problem in India, saw an increase during
the lockdown imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19.
The Covid-19 pandemic significantly altered people’s lives and most
significantly family dynamics. The nationwide lockdown, imposed in
March last year, was especially difficult for women since they had to
juggle household chores and manage their work.
By the second month of lockdown, complaints about domestic abuse
doubled. Such complaints rose from 116 in the first week of March to
257 in the final week.
According to official data, the National Commission for Women (NCW)
registered an increase of 2.5 times in complaints of domestic violence
in April last year. The NCW received 1,477 complaints between 25
March and 31 May.
By researcher Priyanshi Chauhan found that “approximately 22.5% of
married women, as compared to zero men and unmarried women,
worked for more than 70 hours per week” during the lockdown. The
study also said unemployed women witnessed the highest increase of
30.5 percentage points for those who spent more than 70 hours per
week on unpaid work.
Methodological issues in the study of
violence against women:

The objective of this paper is to review the methodological

issues that arise when studying violence against women as a
public health problem, focusing on intimate partner violence
(IPV), since this is the form of violence that has the greatest
consequences at a social and political level.
The paper describes the difficulties in assessing the magnitude
of the problem. Obtaining reliable data on this type of violence
is a complex task, because of the methodological issues derived
from the very nature of the phenomenon, such as the private,
intimate context in which this violence often takes place, which
means the problem cannot be directly observed.
Finally, the paper examines the limitations and bias in research
on violence, including the lack of consensus with regard to
measuring events that may or may not represent a risk factor
for violence against women or the methodological problem
related to the type of sampling used in both etiological and
prevalence studies.
Research on violence against women is considered as an
important objective of any programmed designed to eradicate
this problem. In the Fourth World Conference on Women, held
in Beijing in 1995, one of the strategic objectives established
was to study the causes and consequences of violence against
women and the efficacy of preventive measures, encouraging
governments and organizations to promote research in this
area.
Despite a growing social and political interest in the subject,
there are still few research studies on certain aspects related to
the efficacy of measures implemented in the field of violence
against women. Furthermore, there are no epidemiological
surveillance systems that employ homogeneous criteria in
order to measure this problem, thus permitting reliable data to
be obtained on its prevalence and incidence.
The “Multi‐country study on women’s health and domestic
violence against women” is the first of its type carried out by
the World Health Organization (WHO) and shows that the most
common type of violence against women is that which is
carried out by their partner. This type of violence is far more
common than attacks or rapes carried out by strangers or other
people that the victims may know.

Result on Domestic Violence:

Domestic violence affects one’s thoughts, feelings and behaviors and
can significantly impact one’s mental stability. Increased anxiety, post-
traumatic stress disorder and depression symptoms are commonly
observed among survivors of domestic violence.
Families or individuals who have experienced domestic violence are in
the process of healing both physically and emotionally from multiple
traumas. These traumas can have various effects on the mind, body and
spirit. It is natural to experience these, and acknowledging the effects
can be an important first step in embarking on a process towards
restoration and healing.
People who are exposed to domestic violence often experience
physical, mental or spiritual shifts that can endure and worsen if they
are not addressed. According to a study done by the Centers for
Disease Control, nearly three in every 10 women—about 32 million—
and one in 10 men in the United States who experienced rape, physical
violence and/or stalking by an intimate partner reported at least one
measured impact or effect related to forms of violent behavior in that
relationship.
Many factors can influence how a person responds to short- and long-
term effects of the abuse, such as the frequency of abusive incidents,
degree of severity and the effects on physical health. The overall impact
of domestic violence also depends on the individual’s natural reactions
to stress and ways of coping with stressful situations. Other factors can
include age in which the trauma occurred, previous exposure to
unrelated traumatic incidents and extent of therapy or timing of
intervention.
It’s important to know that the effects of domestic violence can be
overwhelming to experience, and even to learn about. It’s common for
someone in an abusive relationship to not recall many aspects of their
personality before being abused, especially if they have been exposed
to violence for an extended period of time. Sometimes, it may seem as
if the violence defines their identity. But know the effects of domestic
violence are possible to overcome, and it is possible to break the cycle
of violence. Recovery from exposure to domestic violence is possible,
and although it requires addressing painful realities, it also entails
discovering new inner strengths, a process that needs time, space and
safety to begin.

Conclusion:
Domestic violence is a type of abuse. It can be the abuse of a
spouse or partner, which is also known as intimate partner
violence. Or it could be the abuse of a child, older relative, or
other family member. … Emotional abuse, which includes
threats, name-calling, put-downs, and humiliation.
Domestic violence is a serious social problem and a national
health concern with significant negative impacts on individuals
and our communities. It is a primary cause of injury to women
in the United States.
Domestic violence is a serious problem around the world. It
violates the fundamental human rights of women and often
results in serious injury or death. While statistics vary slightly,
women are victims of violence in approximately 95% of the
cases of domestic violence.