Study: domestic violence more common among Hindu families

By TwoCircles.net staff reporter

Bangalore: The incidence of domestic violence is higher for Hindu women than Muslim or Christian women, during pregnancy, according to a study published in the latest issue of Journal of Affective Disorders.

The study of 203 Bangalore women of different faiths was conducted by National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences. The study involved interviewing each woman to find out about violence against them when they were pregnant.

Physical, psychological and sexual coercion by force was identified as violence that is detrimental to the physical and mental health of pregnant women. Therefore a study into factors that lead to this violence can help in protecting women against domestic violence.

Various factors like age, education, income, religion, number of people in the household were considered in this study and except for religion, there were no significant differences in any of these sociodemographic variables among the abused and non-abused women. Study found that abuse was more common among Hindu families than Muslim or Christian families. 19% of Hindu women reported violence as opposed to 8% of other faith, a significant difference. Result even surprised researchers but no explanation was offered to explain this difference.

Alcohol use by husbands was also common in families where women were abused.