Men's experiences of family, domestic and honour-related violence in Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, India

Background: Violence is a major problem in India with family, domestic and honour-related violence having significant impacts on the wellbeing of Indian families and communities. There has been little attention paid to men’s experiences, particularly in the Indian State’s of Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. The objective of this study was to provide baseline data on Indian men’s experiences of violence and the key predictors such as age, income, education and religion. Methods: A cross-sectional survey of men from Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat. Data were obtained from a non-probability purposive sample of 1000 adult men over a two-month period in late 2009. The respondents were selected from public spaces in 10 cities or towns within these two provinces. Results: The results found a lifetime prevalence of experiencing family violence of 99.2% (15.6% often and 64.1% sometimes), domestic violence 92.2% (21.1% often and 44.9% sometimes), and honour-related violence 99.7% (45.1% often and 41.7% sometimes). Moreover, when we analysed the men’s responses across socio-demographic factors, age, income, religion, education and region were each shown to be important predictors of regular exposure to family, domestic and honour-related violence. Conclusions: The results of this survey provide much needed insight into the factors that predict experiences of violence. Such data can inform targeting by community development programs and Government policy in order to provide additional support to individuals and communities most likely to be exposed to these types of violence.