Domestic violence, or intimate partner violence (IPV) as it is sometimes called, is a worldwide problem. Cultural and household stress factors contribute to the prevalence of domestic violence, and it has been argued that these factors need to be thoroughly addressed through such channels as the institutionalization of routine screening for warning signs of domestic violence by health professionals, legislation (along with feasible mechanisms for enforcement), and support and empowerment stemming from women’s groups. Domestic violence in India is endemic. Around 70% of women in India are victims of domestic violence, according to a former Union minister for Women and Child Development. This all occurs despite the fact that women in India are legally protected from domestic abuse under the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act. There may be different types of domestic violence; some of them are discussed below.  

Forms of Domestic Violence:

•  Physical injury: It is the most visible form of domestic violence. The scope of physical domestic/intimate partner violence includes slapping, pushing, kicking, biting, hitting, throwing objects, strangling, beating, threatening with any form of weapon, or using a weapon. Physical injuries as a result of domestic violence against women are more obvious than psychological ones, and can be more easily discerned by health professionals as well as courts of law in the context of legal prosecution.
• Emotional abuse: It has been gaining more and more recognition in recent years as an incredibly common form of domestic violence (and therefore a human rights abuse) within the private home throughout developing nations such as India. Psychological abuse can erode a woman’s sense of selfworth and can be incredibly harmful to overall mental and physical wellbeing. Emotional/psychological abuse can include harassment; threats; verbal abuse such as name-calling, degradation and blaming; stalking; and isolation.
• Sexual assault: It is another common form of domestic violence. Sexual violence can include a range of forceful and non-forceful acts including unwanted kissing, touching, or fondling; sexual/reproductive coercion; rape; and marital rape. Abuse is found to be most common among men who also had extramarital affairs, and among those who had STD symptoms. Abusive sexual behaviors were also found to be correlated with an elevated rate of unplanned pregnancies. In 2013, a court in Mumbai ruled that depriving a woman of sex is a form of cruelty. 

Effects of Domestic Violence: Women suffer many types of physical and emotional abuse as a result of illegal actions taken within the private home, and those who have experienced some form of domestic violence tend to have greater long-term mental disorders and drug dependencies than those who do not. In India, reducing domestic violence is imperative not only from an ethical and human rights perspective but also because of obvious instrumental and immediate health benefits that would be gained from such reduction. In more specific terms, following are some of the effects of domestic violence

•  Women who experience domestic violence overwhelmingly tend to have greater overall emotional distress, as well as disturbingly high occurrences of suicidal thoughts and attempts. According to a study by the National Centre for Biotechnology Information, suicide attempts in India are correlated with physical and psychological intimate partner violence.
• Serious health problems often result from physical, emotional, and sexual forms of domestic violence. Physical health outcomes include: Injury (from lacerations to fractures and internal organs injury), Unwanted Pregnancy, Gynecological problems, Miscarriage, etc. Mental health effects can include depression, fear, anxiety, low self-esteem, sexual dysfunction, etc. Fatal effects can include suicide, homicide, maternal mortality, etc.
• Negative public health consequences are also strongly associated with domestic violence. Social and economic costs have been identified as direct results of these public-health consequences, and it is argued that these justify state action to act in the interest of the public to reconcile these costs (specifically including costs such as worker earnings and productivity, public healthcare, and costs associated with the criminal justice system). The act of domestic violence towards women is a human rights violation as well as an illegal act under Indian law.
• It is, therefore, widely considered a threat to women’s agency through any lens, and there is a growing recognition in many Indian regions that the nation can reach a higher potential through obtaining greater social and economic capital than by reducing women’s participation in society. Domestic violence is one of the most significant determinants of this denial. Greater gender equality through greater women’s agency cannot be achieved if basic health needs are not being met and if cultural biases that allow for domestic violence in India persist

Dowry demand and dowry death:

In Indian subcontinent, dowry is the payment in cash or some kind of gifts given to a bridegroom's family along with the bride. The dowry system is thought to put great financial burden on the bride's family. Historical records suggest that dowry in ancient India was insignificant, and daughters had inheritance rights, which by custom were exercised at the time of her marriage. However, dowry has become a prevalent practice in India's modern era.

There are variations on dowry prevalence based on geography and class. States in the north are more likely to participate in the dowry system among all classes, and dowry is more likely to be in the form of material and movable goods. In the south, the bride price system is more prevalent, and is more often in the form of land, or other inheritance goods. This system is tied to the social structure of marriage, which keeps marriage inside or close to family relations. Dowry also varies by economic strata in India. Upper-class families are more likely to engage in the dowry system than the lower class. This could be in part due to women’s economic exclusion from the labor market in upper classes.

Dowry has become a social menace in modern India, because due to its practice women are subjected to many types of atrocity and harassment, the most brutal and inhumane of which is ‘dowry death.’ Dowry demand and its inadequate satisfaction is one of the most prominent reasons for domestic violence. Let us briefly discuss the dynamics of dowry deaths. Dowry deaths

These are deaths of young women who are murdered or driven to suicide by continuous harassment and torture by husbands and in-laws in an effort to extort an increased dowry. Dowry deaths are found in many countries, but India reports the highest total number of dowry deaths. Dowry death is considered as one of the many categories of violence against women, alongside rape, bride burning, eve teasing, and acid throwing. Dowry deaths in India are not limited to Hindus or any specific religion. The ratio of dowry deaths is about the same as the ratio of population in India by religions.

Way Forward

• Both societal norms for behavior and the built environment affect a woman’s safety in public spaces. Knowledge of women’s issues might begin to make a shift in the way women are treated and respected in the society. While retaliation and rejecting the notion that it is okay to be inappropriately treated in public is perhaps a beginning, the journey is much longer. A crucial step is to generate more awareness about women’s safety issues in public spaces.
• The behavior and attitudes of the society cannot be transformed overnight, but the built environment can be controlled and can be used as a medium for change. As a beginning we can start with creating favorable urban infrastructure, like proper lighting on the public places, safe and secure urban transportation, installing CCTV cameras at places thought to be prone to sexual violence etc.
• Setting up of specially designed courts (Fast Track Courts) for trying cases of violence against women. These courts could be mandated to finalize the case within a stipulated time frame.
•  Setting up of all women police stations and recruiting of more policewomen. However, in the light of instances where members of women police force were themselves harassed, raped or even murdered, there is greater need for reforming and sensitizing the police system as such.
• Unlike the cases of sexual molestation registered in police stations, there is a large portion of women in India who are subjected to rape and other forms of sexual assault on a daily basis and still their cases go unnoticed. These women are the unfortunate wives who have to indulge in sexual intercourse with their husbands even if they don't want to (non-consensual sex is nothing but rape). They don't actually have a say in front of their husbands when it comes to sex, they have to comply with the needs and demands of their husbands.
• Another category of such women who are bound to indulge in sexual activities against their wishes are the hundreds of thousands of sex workers in India who are visited by numerous men everyday and even tortured by many of their clients. They are compelled to do as their clients say as they have no other means of feeding themselves and their children other than selling their bodies to the sex-hungry men of India.