Domestic Violence against Women: Statistical Analysis of Crimes across India

Abstract

Due to the difficulties involved in obtaining data, especially on a nation-wide basis, statistical studies of domestic violence have been limited. This is particularly true for developing countries, including India, where gender discrimination is deeply entrenched. This study draws on data from one of the only current sources of nationwide information about domestic violence in India, the Indian National Crime Records Bureau. To examine the general patterns in domestic crimes against women across India, multivariate linear regression is performed on Dowry Death (wife murder) and Cruelty (wife abuse) crime rates for the major Indian states and cities. The primary findings reveal a robust inverse relationship between Dowry Death crimes and a state’s level of development, and suggest a possible link between development and other domestic violence. Specifically, the urban-rural disparities in the Cruelty data are explained with a “gendered resource theory” hypothesis that wife-abuse is more prevalent in areas of higher social development change (such as changing gender roles). The paper discusses these results within an ecological domestic violence paradigm, and addresses the inherent complications with using crime data.