Report of the Baseline Survey for project on
‘Awareness Generation on issues relating to Violence Against Women’
The state of Rajasthan
Chittorgarh district
2001
Consumer Unity & Trust Society
Centre for Human Development
Rawala, Senti; Chittorgarh – 312025, Rajasthan, India.
Tel.: 91.1472.241472; Fax: 91.1472.240072
Email: ;
Web site: www.cuts.org
CONTENTS
Page No.
Preface and Acknowledgements 4
Acronyms 5
Salient Findings 6
Key Indicators on discrimination and violence with women 8
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background 10
1.2 About the project & baseline survey 11
1.3 Survey Design and Sample Size 12
1.4 Questionnaires 12
1.5 Training and Field Work 12
1.6 Data Processing and Tabulation 13
CHAPTER 2 STATUS OF WOMEN
2.1 Issues covered 14
2.2 Domicile 14
2.3 Marriage 14
2.4 Education 14
2.5 Family size and obstetrics 15
2.6 Food intake 16
2.7 Workload 16
2.8 Healthcare and Reproductive health 16
2.9 Prevalence, patterns and reasons of domestic violence 17
2.10 Opposition/complaint to and action on domestic violence 19
2.11 Awareness of legal remedies 20
2.12 Impact of violence 20
2.13 Socio-cultural malpractice 20
2.14 Comprehension of violence 21
2.15 Non-domestic violence 21
CHAPTER 3 GENERIC ISSUES & STATUS OF SERVICES
3.1 Issues accounted for 22
3.2 Generic issues of villages 22
3.3 Status of nutrition and women development services 22
3.4 Status of health services 22
3.5 Government support institutions 22
CHAPTER 4 SELECT CASE STUDIES 23
CHAPTER 5 ANALYSIS OF THE FINDINGS 27
REFERENCES 30
TABLES
Key Indicators on discrimination and violence with girl child
Table No. Issue/Indicator Page
Table 1 Marriage 14
Table 2 Education 15
Table 3 Family size and obstetrics 15
Table 4 Workload 16
Table 5 Healthcare and Reproductive health 17
Table 6 Prevalence, patterns, and reasons of domestic violence 18–19
Table 7 Opposition/complaint to and action on violence 19
PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Consumer Unity & Trust Society (CUTS), which is a not-for-profit social action and rights advocacy non-government organisation, has a policy of working on community-based action programmes to provide succor to disadvantaged sections of the society. In pursuit of this policy, the CUTS Centre for Human Development (CHD) has been working on issues related to empowerment, health, governance and environment at the grassroots level in the rural areas of Chittorgarh and Bhilwara districts.
The Centre initiated a need-based project on Awareness Generation on issues relating to Violence Against Women (AGVAW), with the support of “India-Canada Cooperation Office (ICCO)” of the ‘Canadian International Development Agency'. This project aims to reduce and prevent various forms of discrimination as well as violence against women.
In order to assess the natures of discrimination and violence as well as have reliable information on the status of women, a 'Baseline Survey' was conducted. The survey endeavoured to identify prevalence and patterns of discrimination and violence, action taken by the victims and the support/attitude of various stakeholders. Major highlights of this study were active participation of respondent women during data collection, in terms of narrating specific incidences. This survey is expected to give an insight to the various forms of domestic and non-domestic gender discrimination and violence encountered by the women as well as grievance redress mechanisms at different levels and support by relevant groups/communities/agencies, so that appropriate policies could be formulated/ redesigned and actions be taken.
This survey could not have been completed without the cooperation of the respondent women and the villagers of the respective areas. We would like to thank the animators for their endeavour in sensitisation of respondent women. The Centre also acknowledges the cooperation of numerous other individuals such as schoolteachers, anganwadi workers, auxiliary nurse midwives, ward-panchs/sarpanchs etc for their cooperation.
Our sincere thanks are due to Mr. Pradeep S Mehta, Secretary General of CUTS for his systemic input and Mr. Shekhar Anand, Programme Officer of ICCO for the supportive guidance. We also thank our colleagues for their cooperation in data collection.
Partha Das
Research Team (AGVAW)
CUTS-CHD, Chittorgarh
ACRONYMS
ANM Auxiliary Nurse Mid-wife
AWC Anganwadi Centre
AWW Anganwadi Worker
BLS Baseline survey
CHD Centre for Human Development
CIDA Canadian International Development Agency
CUTS Consumer Unity & Trust Society
FGD Focus Group Discussion
ICCO India-Canada Cooperation Office
PDS Public Distribution System
PRA Participatory Rural Appraisal
SALIENT FINDINGS
1. The baseline survey was carried out as a part of the project called Awareness Generation on issues relating to Violence Against Women assisted by ICCO of CIDA. Project animators and motivators conducted the survey with supportive facilitation of the staff of CUTS, Chittorgarh.
1.1 The survey was organised in 95 rural households in 5 blocks of Chittorgarh district of Rajasthan state. One village was chosen from each of the five project blocks. The respondents were women (> 18 years old), village-head/ward-panch/sarpanch, schoolteachers, anganwadi workers (AWWs) and auxiliary nurse mid-wives (ANMs). Critical analyses of the survey findings have been mentioned in this chapter with the responses of the women being summarised in points/sub-points 2 to 2.10. The information shared by the other stakeholders has also been consolidated towards the end of this section.
2. The primary respondents, 95 in number, were women above the age of 18 years. Of them, more than 62% of women reside with their husbands but not in joint families whereas only 32% women stay in joint families with their husbands. 95% respondent women are currently married and of them, about 8% women have remarried under nata[1] system.
2.1 Of the total respondents, more than 84% are illiterate and barely 13% are literate. Of these illiterate and semi-literate women, 25% were ridiculed/taunted for having no or less education, with the husbands ridiculing in more than 30% cases and the mother-in-laws in about 26% cases. Almost 99% of the illiterate and semi-literate women feel that had they been educated it would have been better.
2.2 Of the women who have children, 25% have five or more children, 15.91% have four, and 23.86% three children. 25% women had three miscarriages, about 11% had two miscarriages and more than 64% had one miscarriage.
2.3 About 98% women mentioned of feeling tired while performing household chores during a day. Nearly 45% of the respondents worked even during their illness. During illness, 17% women never got help from their family members to complete the work, while only 21% of them got occasional support. About 72% women worked (e.g. household chores) even during their pregnancy.
2.4 Only 14% of the women take decisions regarding own healthcare, whereas in 65% cases husband of the woman decides it. 37% respondents mentioned that during illness they got treatment from health institutions and about 29% women were first taken to devra-bhopa (area/community specific temple-priest) to get cured. The women not using any family planning methods mentioned that in 95% cases they would have to be the user, not their husbands. Only in 40% cases, the woman is able to decide as to how many children would she bear.
2.5 About 72% respondents mentioned to be scolded at home and one-fourth of them have been scolded more frequently. 44% women reported to have been beaten at home and of them, 95% said of being beaten by their husbands. The two major reasons for such physical abuse were, not doing household work in time and/or proper way (55.1%) and erratic behaviour of alcoholic husband (12.24%). About 64% of the women who are either scolded or beaten feel that the treatment meted out to them are unfair.
2.6 59% of the victims had opposed to acts of violence with the aggressor, after which in 64% cases the incidences of scolding and beating reduced. 54% of the abused women had complained to elders in the family. As a result of such action, in 25% cases the acts of violence stopped and in another 50% cases the aggressor was counseled. Of the women who had complained of incidence of violence, 31% faced repeat acts of scolding/beating.
2.7 Only 23% abused women had informed/complained to people outside their family regarding domestic violence suffered by them and 64% of them mentioned of getting some succor, the help mainly being in the form of ‘counseling the aggressor’ (88% cases). 45% of the complainant women stated repeat incidences of scolding/beating in such cases. Of the 77% respondents who had not complained to people outside their family regarding domestic violence, the major reason for doing so was to save family honour (44.7% cases).
2.8 The 40% women, who mentioned that their abuse had adversely affected their children, had indicated the major effect as ‘children being upset/distressed (35% cases)’.
2.9 35% women are not aware of ill-effects of child/early marriage; 65% about nata-pratha; 37% of ata-sata pratha[2]; 40% about inadequate/improper education; 43% about insufficient nutrition/food intake; 52% of frequent incidences of scolding/beating; and 57% of their less/no participation in household decision-making processes.
2.10 More than 29% women could not explain as to what ‘violence’ (hinsa/hatyachar/chijwada) is all about. Only 23% women are aware of existence of legal provisions to protect them from discrimination and violence.
3. The social structure in the project villages is of conservative and segmented nature, with gender and caste (jati) factors playing major roles in social interaction. Inadequacy of educational facilities, public distribution system, pre-school education, health and nutrition services affect most of the villages. Further in many schools, quality of education and infrastructural facilities are very poor. In the schools, drop-out rate of girls is very high. Number of pregnant and lactating women taking all the services of anganwadi centres is very low. Many pregnant women do not get immunised, because of prevailing socio-cultural malpractice. Many pregnant women of the project villages are anemic. This increases their vulnerability to diseases and reproductive morbidity.
3.1 The AWCs also act like counseling centre for women victims of violence. From their experiences some of the anganwadi workers mentioned that mostly the daughters are psychologically affected when their mothers are abused. Some ANMs mentioned that women seek treatment for physical injury inflicted due to violence. On the incidences of sexual abuse, they told that such cases are mostly handled within household or in consultation with local 'traditional birth attendant’. They also referred to incidences of child marriage and girl child infanticide in some villages.
4. The survey covered a limited geographical region and has been conducted over a short span of time. Therefore findings of the survey could be considered as a trend and should not be interpreted in the context of entire Chittorgarh district.
KEY INDICATORS ON DISCRIMINATION AND VIOLENCE WITH WOMEN
The baseline survey was organised in 95 rural households of five project blocks of Chittorgarh district. Highlights of the survey findings have been depicted in this section.
Sample Population / TotalRespondents:
(i) Number of women interviewed
(ii) Age of the women / 95
> 18 years
Sl. No. / Key Indicators / Total (%)
1 / Marriage:
(i) Currently married women / 95
(ii) Women residing with their husbands but not in joint families / 62
(iii) Women staying in joint families with their husbands / 32
2 / Education:
(i) Women who are completely illiterate / 84
(ii) Women who are ridiculed/taunted for having no or less education / 25
(iii) Illiterate/semi-literate women who feel quality of life would have been better with education / 99
3 / Reproductive Health & Rights:
(i) Women with 5 or more children / 25
(ii) Women with 3 miscarriages / 25
(iii) Non-user women who would opt for any family planning method (& not their husbands) / 95
(iv) Women who decide their family size / 40
4 / Workload:
(i) Women who work even during their illness / 45
(ii) Women who work even during their pregnancy / 72
5 / Healthcare:
(i) Women deciding her own healthcare / 14
(ii) Husband deciding his wife’s healthcare / 65
(iii) Women taken to devra-bhopa first / 29
(iv) Women getting treatment from health institutions / 37
6 / Prevalence, reasons and patterns of domestic violence:
(i) Women who have been scolded sometime or other / 72
(ii) Women who have been beaten / 44
(iii) Women primarily beaten by – Husbands / 95
(iv) Women who are beaten with stick / 17
(v) Major reasons of beating
· Not doing household work in time and/or proper way
· Erratic behaviour of alcoholic husband / 55
12
7 / Opposition/complaint to domestic violence and action on complaint/protest:
(i) Women who had opposed the aggressor for acts of violence / 59
(ii) Victims with whom incidences of scolding/beating reduced after opposing the aggressor / 38
(iii) Abused women who had complained to elders in the family of the violence / 54
(iv) Major outcomes of protest/complaint –
· Acts of aggression stopped
· Aggressor was counseled / 13.5
27
(v) Women who faced repeat acts of scolding/beating after complaining family elders / 17
(vi) Women who had complained to persons outside their family of the violence / 23
(vii) Major reason for not complaining to outsiders – to save family honour/reputation / 34
(viii) Women who mentioned that their abuse had adversely affected their children / 40
Sl. No. / Key Indicators / Total (%)
8 / Awareness of ill-effects of socio-cultural malpractice:
(i) Child/early marriage (below legal age) / 35
(ii) Nata pratha / 65
(iii) Ata-sata pratha / 37
(iv) Inadequate/improper education / 40
(v) Insufficient nutrition/food intake / 43
(vi) Frequent incidences of scolding/beating / 52
(vii) Less/no participation in household decision-making processes / 57
9 / Legal awareness:
(i) Women who were unable to interpret the ambit of 'violence' / 29
(ii) Women who are aware of the existence of legal provisions aimed at protecting them from discrimination and violence / 23
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Background:
1.1 At all ends of the age spectrum, status of the poor and disadvantaged has been found to be neglected and that of women's in particular, worse. The links between gender, population and development are complex, and specific to historical and socio-economic-cultural contexts. Even today, women and men still live in different worlds, with different access, opportunities, rewards, and legal protections.