Demographic health survey: Women in 40-49 group more prone to violence
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KATHMANDU, AUG 25 -
The National Women Commission (NWC) and women rights activists have criticised the preliminary findings of Nepal Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) 2011 for lacking specifics on domestic violence.
The report, which was made public by the Population Division of the Ministry of Health and Population on Tuesday, stated that 34 percent of women in 15-49 age group experienced physical violence since the age of 15. According to the report, nine percent of these women were subjected to physical violence in the past 12 months, less than two percent often faced such violence while seven percent faced it occasionally.
The report said women in 40-49 age group and those with five or more living children are more prone to physical violence. Recently married women are victims of more such violence than single women, said the report.
While 35 percent of rural women faced physical violence, the figure was 29 percent among urban women. Similarly, women from the Tarai region are more likely to face domestic violence than those from other areas.
Domestic violence has been associated with education as well. The cases of physical violence among uneducated women is highest (51 percent) while 15 percent of women with SLC and higher levels of education ever experienced such violence.
The study is based on representative samples of 10,826 households that included interviews with 12,674 females in 15-49 age group of all the selected households and interviews with 4,121 males of the same age group in every second household.
NWC member Amuda Shrestha expressed doubts on the validity of the report, saying it has not mentioned details of the survey areas.
Shrestha said there are different forms of domestic violence and that not all of them can be put into a single category. She also said that the report fails to specify reasons because of which the respondents were subjected to domestic violence. “Until and unless details of categories and reasons of domestic violence are specified, the study cannot be realistic,” Shrestha said.
Renu Rajbhandari, founder chairperson of Women's Rehabilitation Centre, pointed out the need to conduct a detailed survey of domestic violence among women in urban areas. She said that rural women are more open to share their experiences than those in the urban areas due to factors like support mechanism and social status. The study has failed to consider this factor, she said.
Posted on: 2011-08-25 09:00
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