India’s decline in domestic abuse masks regressive attitude towards gender equality
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The average day for 31-year-old Ganga* starts at 6 am. She cooks and packs food for her children aged six and eight, drops them off at school, and leaves for work. After nine hours at work, she comes back home and cooks dinner for the family. On most nights, her husband consumes alcohol and beats her.
Ganga frequently tells employers and friends about her aching arms or hurting back from the previous night’s assault, often laughing it off as a routine occurrence. She has never reported the violence to the police, or sought help from other community organisations.
Once, the accredited social health activist (ASHA) who helped her during pregnancy witnessed the violence and intervened, but not much has changed for her. “I am not going to get a lot of community or legal support – not even from my parents,” says Ganga, who works as a domestic worker and caregiver for an 85-year-old woman.
She makes Rs 12,000 a month, and sometimes earns a little extra doing domestic work in the neighbourhood. Her income is spent on her children’s education and groceries. Her husband irons clothes for Rs 200- Rs 400 a day, when there is work.
Cases under “cruelty by husband or relatives” account for 27%...