Domestic Violence Against Women in Rural Rajasthan, India: A Sociological Analysis

Abstract

Domestic violence is one of the crimes against women which is linked to their disadvantageous position in the society. Internationally, one in three women have been beaten or abused by a member of her own family.

Though violence against women in the family is a global phenomenon, yet its ramifications are more complex and its intensity much greater in India. The status of women fits into a vicious circle of mutually reinforcing gender inequalities and patriarchal practices in Rajasthan.

The present study was conducted in two villages near Pilani, Rajasthan during January–June 2009. Main objectives of the study were to explore the incidence, type, and cause of violence among women and to examine the awareness level of “Prevention of Domestic Violence Act 2005.” Simple random sampling technique was used. Respondents were married women within the age group of 15–50 years. A total of 150 women were interviewed.

A statistically significant relationship was found between violence and women's age, caste, structure of family, literacy level of women, husband's level of education, and husband's alcohol consumption. Not a single case of violence was reported to the police.

Citation

Prakash, N. (2011), "Domestic Violence Against Women in Rural Rajasthan, India: A Sociological Analysis", Wejnert, B. (Ed.) Democracies: Challenges to Societal Health (Research in Political Sociology, Vol. 19), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 89-102. https://doi.org/10.1108/S0895-9935(2011)0000019010