We examine the effect of women empowerment as indicated by women’s education level, employment status and autonomy on the odds of intimate partner violence (IPV) in India using NFHS-III and NFHS-IV unit-level data. We find that the indicators of women empowerment do not always affect the odds of physical and sexual violence in the same manner. Our study shows that women’s level of education and the odds of sexual violence by their intimate partner show an inverted-U-type association. Education’s mitigating effects on violence are weakening over the decade under inquiry. Earning for the household does not provide respite to women from IPV as working women have a higher likelihood of IPV, which has not declined over the decade studied. However, women’s autonomy negatively affects the odds of IPV.
AcharyaR., SabarwalS., & JejeebhoyS. J. (2012). Women’s empowerment and forced sex within marriage in rural India. Economic and Political Weekly, 47(2), 65–69. https://www.jstor.org/stable/23065611
2.
AckersonL. K., KawachiI., BarbeauE. M., & SubramanianS. V. (2008). Effects of individual and proximate educational context on intimate partner violence: A population-based study of women in India. American Journal of Public Health, 98(3), 507–514. 10.2105/AJPH.2007.113738
3.
AizerA. (2010). The gender wage gap and domestic violence. American Economic Review, 100(4), 1847–1859. 10.1257/aer.100.4.1847
4.
AldermanH., ChiapporiP.-A., HaddadL., HoddinottJ., & KanburR. (1995). Unitary versus collective models of the household: Is it time to shift the burden of proof?The World Bank Research Observer, 10(1), 1–19. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3986564
5.
AtkinsonM. P., GreensteinT. N., & LangM. M. (2005). For women, breadwinning can be dangerous: Gendered resource theory and wife abuse. Journal of Marriage and Family, 67(5), 1137–1148. 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2005.00206.x
6.
BatesL. M., SchulerS. R., IslamF., & IslamM. K. (2004). Socioeconomic factors and processes associated with domestic violence in rural Bangladesh. International Family Planning Perspectives, 30(4), 190–199. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1566493
7.
BiswasT. K., & KabirM. (2004). Measuring women’s empowerment: Indicators and measurement techniques. Social Change, 34(3), 64–77. 10.1177/004908570403400305
8.
BowlesS. (2004). Microeconomics: Behavior, institutions, and evolution. Princeton University Press. https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctvcm4gc3
9.
BowlusA. J., & SeitzS. (2006). Domestic violence, employment, and divorce. International Economic Review, 47(4), 1113–1149. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3877455
10.
ChiapporiP.-A. (1992). Collective labor supply and welfare. Journal of Political Economy, 100(3), 437–467. 10.1086/261825
11.
ChowdhuryS. R., BoharaA. K., & HornB. P. (2018). Balance of power, domestic violence, and health Injuries: Evidence from demographic and health survey of Nepal. World Development, 102, 18–29. 10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.09.009
12.
ChungB., KantachoteK., MallickA., PolsterR., & RoetsK. (2013). Indicators of women’s empowerment in developing nations. M. Robert La Follette School of Public Affairs, University of Wisconsin, Madison.
13.
CoolsS., & KotsadamA. (2017). Resources and intimate partner violence in sub-Saharan Africa. World Development, 95, 211–230. 10.1016/j.worlddev.2017.02.027
14.
DalalK. (2011). Does economic empowerment protect women from intimate partner violence?Journal of Injury & Violence Research, 3(1), 35–44. 10.5249/jivr.v3i1.76
15.
DhanarajS., & MahambareV. (2022). Male backlash and female guilt: Women’s employment and intimate partner violence in urban India. Feminist Economics, 28(1), 170–198. 10.1080/13545701.2021.1986226
16.
EswaranM., & MalhotraN. (2011). Domestic violence and women’s autonomy in developing countries: Theory and evidence. Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue Canadienne d’économique, 44(4), 1222–1263. 10.1111/j.1540-5982.2011.01673.x
17.
GoodeW. J. (1971). Force and Violence in the Family. Journal of Marriage and Family, 33(4), 624–636. 10.2307/349435
18.
HindinM. J., & AdairL. S. (2002). Who’s at risk? Factors associated with intimate partner violence in the Philippines. Social Science & Medicine, 55(8), 1385–1399. 10.1016/S0277-9536(01)00273-8
19.
HollanderD. (2006). Domestic violence in India is linked to individual and community factors. International Family Planning Perspectives, 32(1), 53. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4147613
20.
HornungC. A., McCulloughB. C., & SugimotoT. (1981). Status relationships in marriage: Risk factors in spouse abuse. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 43(3), 675–692. 10.2307/351768
21.
International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), & Macro International. (2007). National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3), 2005–06: India. IIPS. https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/frind3/frind3-vol1andvol2.pdf
22.
International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), & ICF. (2017). National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), 2015-16: India. IIPS. http://rchiips.org/nfhs/NFHS-4Reports/India.pdf
23.
JejeebhoyS. J. (1998). Wife-beating in rural India: A husband’s right? Evidence from survey data. Economic and Political Weekly, 33(15), 855–862. https://www.jstor.org/stable/4406642
24.
KabeerN. (1999). Resources, agency, achievements: Reflections on the measurement of women’s empowerment. Development and Change, 30(3), 435–464. 10.1111/1467-7660.00125
25.
KabeerN. (2005). Gender equality and women’s empowerment: A critical analysis of the third millennium development goal 1. Gender and Development, 13(1), 13–24. 10.1080/13552070512331332273
26.
KalmussD. S., & StrausM. A. (1982). Wife’s marital dependency and wife abuse. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 44(2), 277–286. 10.2307/351538
KoenigM. A., StephensonR., AhmedS., JejeebhoyS. J., CampbellJ. (2006). Individual and contextual determinants of domestic violence in North India. American Journal of Public Health, 96(1), 132–138.
29.
LawsonJ. (2012). Sociological theories of intimate partner violence. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 22(5), 572–590. 10.1080/10911359.2011.598748
30.
LongJ. S., & FreeseJ. (2014). Regression models for categorical dependent variables using Stata (3rd ed.). Stata Press.
31.
LukeN., & MunshiK. (2011). Women as agents of change: Female income and mobility in India. Journal of Development Economics, 94(1), 1–17. 10.1016/j.jdeveco.2010.01.002
32.
LundbergS., & PollakR. A. (1996). Bargaining and distribution in marriage. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 10(4), 139–158. https://www.aeaweb.org/articles/pdf/doi/10.1257/jep.10.4.139
33.
MacmillanR., & RosemaryG. (1999). When she brings home the bacon: Labor-force participation and the risk of spousal violence against women. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 61(4), 947–958. 10.2307/354015
34.
OverstreetN. M., & QuinnD. M. (2013). The intimate partner violence stigmatisation model and barriers to help seeking. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 35(1), 109–122. 10.1080/01973533.2012.746599
35.
PandaP., & AgarwalB. (2005). Marital violence, human development and women’s property status in India. World Development, 33(5), 823–850. 10.1016/j.worlddev.2005.01.009
36.
RaoV. (1997). Wife-beating in rural South India: A qualitative and econometric analysis. Social Science and Medicine, 44(8), 1169–1180. 10.1016/S0277-9536(96)00252-3
37.
SanthyaK. G., HaberlandN., RamF., SinhaR. K., & MohantyS. K. (2007). Consent and coercion: examining unwanted sex among married young women in India. International Family Planning Perspectives, 33(3), 124–132. 10.1363/3312407
38.
SchulerS. R., HashemiS. M., RileyA. P., & AkhterS. (1996). Credit programs, patriarchy and men’s violence against women in rural Bangladesh. Social Science & Medicine, 43(12), 1729–1742. 10.1016/S0277-9536(96)00068-8
39.
VyasS., & WattsC. (2009). How does economic empowerment affect women’s risk of intimate partner violence in low and middle income countries? A systematic review of published evidence. Journal of International Development, 21(5), 577–602. 10.1002/jid.1500
