title: How well does the World Health Organization definition of domestic violence work for India?
abstract: Domestic violence (DV) is reported by 40% of married women in India and associated with substantial morbidity. An operational research definition is therefore needed to enhance understanding of DV epidemiology in India and inform DV interventions and measures. To arrive at a culturally-tailored definition, we aimed to better understand how definitions provided by the World Health Organization and the 2005 India Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act match the perceptions of behaviors constituting DV among the Indian community. Between September 2012 and January 2013, 16 key informant interviews with experts in DV and family counseling and 2 gender-concordant focus groups of lay community members were conducted in Pune, India to understand community perceptions of the definition of DV, perpetrators of DV, and examples of DV encountered by married women in Pune, India. Several key themes emerged regarding behaviors and acts constituting DV including 1) the exertion of control over a woman's reproductive decision-making, mobility, socializing with family and friends, finances, and access to food and nutrition, 2) the widespread acceptance of sexual abuse and the influences of affluence on sexual DV manifestations, 3) the shaping of physical abuse experiences by readily-available tools and the presence of witnesses, 4) psychological abuse for infertility, dowry, and girl-children, and 5) the perpetration of DV by the husband and other members of his family. Findings support the need for a culturally-tailored operational definition that expands on the WHO surveillance definition to inform the development of more effective DV intervention strategies and measures.
authors: Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America; Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Global Health, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.
authors: Ameeta S
authors: AS
authors: Kalokhe
authors: National AIDS Research Institute, Pune, Maharashtra, India.
authors: Ratnaprabha R
authors: RR
authors: Potdar
authors: Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Global Health, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.
authors: Rob
authors: R
authors: Stephenson
authors: Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Behavioral Sciences and Health Education, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.
authors: Kristin L
authors: KL
authors: Dunkle
authors: Temple University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Section of General Internal Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America.
authors: Anuradha
authors: A
authors: Paranjape
authors: Emory University School of Medicine, Department of Medicine, Division of Infectious Diseases, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America; Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, Department of Global Health, Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America.
authors: Carlos
authors: C
authors: Del Rio
authors: National AIDS Research Institute, Pune, Maharashtra, India.
authors: Seema
authors: S
authors: Sahay
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007194:India / Q000453:epidemiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014944:World Health Organization