“I Wanted to Leave,But Where Could I Go?”: Exploring Domestic Violence in Anantnag,Jammu and Kashmir

Abstract

Domestic violence in Anantnag, Jammu and Kashmir, driven by cultural norms and patriarchy, severely impacts women's well-being. This study explores survivor's experiences, help-seeking barriers, and suggests interventions. Semi-structured interviews with 16 Anantnag women were analyzed thematically. Analysis revealed five themes: fear, isolation, financial dependence, emotional abuse, and health impacts, with barriers including stigma, economic constraints, and limited awareness of support systems. Findings emphasize culturally sensitive support, policy reforms, and community efforts to empower survivors and address systemic issues. By prioritizing survivor voices and systemic change, the study informs strategies to mitigate domestic violence and foster resilience in marginalized communities.

Keywords

domestic violence help-seeking qualitative research patriarchy Jammu and Kashmir

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Ackerson

L. K.

Subramanian

S. V.

(2008). State gender inequality, socioeconomic status, and intimate partner violence (IPV) in India: A multilevel analysis. Australian Journal of Social Issues, 43(1), 81–102. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.1839-4655.2008.tb00091.x

Alifanovienė

Šapelytė

Patkauskienė

(2013). Domestic violence against the man: The structure of emotional experience. Social Welfare: Interdisciplinary Approach, 3(1), 31–40. https://doi.org/10.15388/SW.2013.28219

Bell

C. J.

Curry

S. J.

, & National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2024). Intimate partner violence in steady state conditions. In Essential health care services addressing intimate partner violence. National Academies Press. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK605464/

Bello

B. G.

(2023). Physical violence. In Preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence (pp. 395–422). Edward Elgar Publishing. https://doi.org/10.4337/9781839107757.ch40

Braun

Clarke

(2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Campbell

J. C.

(1995). Adult response to violence. In Campbell

J. C.

(Ed.), Violence: A plague in our land (pp. 19–29). American Academy of Nursing.

Campbell

J. C.

(2002). Health consequences of intimate partner violence. The Lancet, 359(9314), 1331–1336. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(02)08336-8

Coker

A. L.

Smith

P. H.

Bethea

King

M. R.

McKeown

R. E.

(2000). Physical health consequences of physical and psychological intimate partner violence. Archives of Family Medicine, 9(5), 451–457. https://doi.org/10.1001/archfami.9.5.451

Dobash

R. E.

Dobash

R. P.

(2003). Women, violence and social change. Routledge.

10.

Dobash

R. E.

Dobash

R. P.

(2004). Women's violence to men in intimate relationships: Working on a puzzle. British Journal of Criminology, 44(3), 324–349. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjc/azh026

11.

Dutton

D. G.

Goodman

L. A.

(2005). Coercion in intimate partner violence: Toward a new conceptualization. Sex Roles, 52(11–12), 743–756. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11199-005-4196-6

12.

Duvvury

Nayak

M. B.

(2003). The role of men in addressing domestic violence: Insights from India. Development, 46(2), 45–50. https://doi.org/10.1057/palgrave.development.1110444

13.

Ellsberg

Heise

(2005). Researching violence against women: A practical guide for researchers and activists. World Health Organization; PATH.

14.

García-Moreno

Jansen

H. A. F. M.

Ellsberg

Heise

Watts

C. H.

(2006). Prevalence of intimate partner violence: Findings from the WHO multi-country study on women's health and domestic violence. The Lancet, 368(9543), 1260–1269. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(06)69523-8

15.

Gelles

R. J.

(1997). Intimate violence in families (3rd ed.). Sage.

16.

Harvey

Gow

(2013). Sex and violence: Issues in representation and experience. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203976029

17.

Houghton

(2024). Reclaiming the domestic: Exploring the significance of ‘home’ for women who have experienced domestic violence and abuse [Doctoral dissertation]. University of Birmingham. University of Birmingham Etheses Repository. http://etheses.bham.ac.uk/id/eprint/14756

18.

International Institute for Population Sciences & ICF. (2017). National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), 2015–16: India. IIPS. https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/fr339/fr339.pdf

19.

Jewkes

Sen

Garcia-Moreno

(2002). Sexual violence. In Krug

E. G.

Dahlberg

L. L.

Mercy

J. A.

Zwi

A. B.

Lozano

(Eds.), World report on violence and health (pp. 149–181). World Health Organization. http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/10124

20.

Jeyaseelan

Sadowski

L. S.

Kumar

Hassan

(2004). Domestic violence against women in eastern India: A population-based study on prevalence and related issues. BMC Public Health, 4, Article 54. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-9-129

21.

Joachim

(1999). Shaping the human rights agenda: The case of violence against women. In Meyer

M. K.

Prügl

(Eds.), Gender politics in global governance (pp. 142–160). Rowman & Littlefield.

22.

Kaur

(2022). Domestic violence against women in rural areas of Jammu district: An analysis. In Niumai

Chauhan

(Eds.), Gender, law and social transformation in India (pp. 193–210). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-8020-6_12

23.

Koenig

M. A.

Stephenson

Ahmed

Jejeebhoy

S. J.

Campbell

(2006). Individual and contextual determinants of domestic violence in North India. American Journal of Public Health, 96(1), 132–138. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2004.050872

24.

Krishnan

Rocca

C. H.

Hubbard

A. E.

Subbiah

Edmeades

Padian

N. S.

(2012). Do changes in spousal employment status lead to domestic violence? Insights from a prospective study in Bangalore, India. Social Science & Medicine, 75(12), 2090–2099. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2009.09.026

25.

Krug

E. G.

Dahlberg

L. L.

Mercy

J. A.

Zwi

A. B.

Lozano

(Eds.). (2002). World report on violence and health. World Health Organization.

26.

Nahar

H. L.

(2024). Addressing the silence: A study on the underreporting of sexual violence among female garment workers in Bangladesh (GLU Working Paper No. 64). Global Labour University.

27.

Pandya

(2022). An analysis of the post-370 revocation trends in Kashmir: Issues and concerns. Strategic Analysis, 46(5), 510–541. https://doi.org/10.1080/09700161.2022.2120753

28.

Peterson

D. S.

Schroeder

J. A.

(Eds.). (2017). Domestic violence in international context. Routledge.

29.

Rao

(1997). Wife-beating in rural South India: A qualitative and econometric analysis. Social Science & Medicine, 44(8), 1169–1180. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0277-9536(96)00252-3

30.

Rasool

(2015). The influence of social constructions of family on abused women’s help-seeking after domestic violence. South African Review of Sociology, 46(4), 24–38. https://doi.org/10.1080/21528586.2015.1100098

31.

Shafi

Jahangir

M. S.

(2013). Women at risk: Understanding power and violence in Kashmir. Social Work Chronicle, 2(1/2), 53–68.

32.

Stark

(2007). Coercive control: How men entrap women in personal life. Oxford University Press.

33.

Whitworth

. (1994). The international planned parenthood federation. In Feminism and international relations. International political economy series. Palgrave Macmillan. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-23572-8_5