NEW DELHI: Women living in rural areas are more prone to gender-based violence than their urban counterparts. As per the National Family Health Survey 6, rural women aged 18-29 report more incidents of physical, spousal and sexual violence.
According to the NFHS-6 data released Friday, gender-based violence in India saw a dip of nearly seven per cent from 29.2 % in 2019-21 to 22.3% in 2023-24.
The survey also noted that have become empowered from being internet literate (from 33.3% to 64.3%), holding more bank accounts (78.6% to 89.0%), having their own mobile phones (53.9% to 63.6%).
It showed that married women aged 18-49 years who have experienced spousal violence dipped from 29.2% to 22.3%, with rural (24.4 %) women facing more violence compared to urban women (17.5%); married women aged 18-49 years who have experienced physical violence during any pregnancy saw a slight dip from 3.1% to 2.7%, again, rural women faced it more (2.9% ) as compared to (2.3%) urban women.
As per the data, some states, mostly southern states, saw spousal violence against women more than the national average. These states are Bihar (36.1%), Jharkhand (27.0%), Telangana (30.8%), Tamil Nadu (28.5%), Uttar Pradesh 28.5%), Puducherry (25.7%) and Andhra Pradesh (22.7).
Just like most northern and western states, southern states like Kerala, Karnataka, Telangana, and Tamil Nadu report rural women facing more violence as compared to those living in urban areas.
In Karnataka, 19.9% rural women face spousal violence as compared to 6.9% urban women. Similarly, in Kerala, 19.7% rural women face violence as against 15.6% urban women. In Tamil Nadu, 32.4% rural women are victims of violence as compared to 23.9% of urban women. In Telangana too, 33.0% rural women face spousal violence as compared to 24.8% urban women.
The survey also revealed that while the overall trend across India show rural women at risk, in certain states, urban women face more spousal violence. These states include Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Jharkhand, Mizoram, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, and Puducherry.
While most states reported a reduction in spousal violence since 2021, states and UTs like Kerala (from 9.8% in 2019-21 to 17.7% in 2023-24), Mizoram (from 10.3% to 11.4%), Goa (from 8.3% to 11.3%), Lakshadweep (from 1.3% to 10.2%), and Andaman and Nicobar Islands (from 17.2% to 18.2%), saw a hike.
There are, however, some states which saw a drastic reduction in violence against women. Karnataka (from 44.4% to 14.1%), Assam (from 32.2% to 16.2%), Maharashtra (from 25.2% to 19.2%), Meghalaya (from 15% to 5.9%), Odisha (30.3% to 18.9%), Sikkim (12.4% to 4.6%), Ladakh (17.7% to 1.9%), Delhi (22.5% to 12.3%).
Data showed that some states saw a rise in women experiencing physical violence when they were pregnant.
These states are: Bihar (from 2.8% to 5.4%); Chhattisgarh (from 0.9% to 1.9%), Goa (from 1.6% to 1.9%) Gujarat (from 1.6% to 1.7%) Haryana (from 1.6% to 2.6%), Himachal Pradesh (0.6% to 0.8%), Kerala (from 0.5% to 1.7%), Punjab (from 1.6% to 1.8%), Tripura (from 2.1% to 2.4%) Uttarakhand (2.1% to 3.5%) Chandigarh (from zero percent to 1.6%), Lakshadweep (from zero percentage to 1.7%) and Pondicherry (from 1.6% to 1.9%).