Reduction in prevalence of spousal physical violence against women in India: evidence from three national surveys

Spousal physical violence (PV) against women is considered to be major health issue in developing countries. Lifetime physical violence is a composite outcome consists of hit, kick, beat, slap and threatened with weapon, perpetrated by the husband. The study aims to examine changes in prevalence and specific risk factors for PV from 1998 to 2016 in India. This study analyzed data from a cross sectional epidemiological survey in 1998-1999, NFHS-3 (2005-2006) and NFHS-4 (2015-2016) data. There was a significant decline of about 10% (95% CI: 8.8%-11.1%) in PV. Major risk factors for change in PV were husband's use of alcohol, illiteracy and socio-economic status of the household. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act may have played a role in reducing the PV. Even though there was a decline in PV, actions have to be implemented from the root level to ensure women empowerment.