High economic class and spousal violence: a study on educated and working women in India

Bharati Maurya, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

Spousal violence is hidden and wider social problem. The main objective is to focus on the regional difference of spousal violence in association with couple‘s education, occupation and their earning abilities in high wealth status families and its impact with socio demographic factors. The data has taken from 36,153 ever married women from NFHS-3 (2005-2006). Bi-variate and multiple linear regressions have been used for analysis. The findings reveal that majority of women with no education or high education; women who engaged as housewives or engaged in any occupational categories do not accept violence of wife beating any reasons. High reported experience of any kind of violence who have completed their secondary education. It is interesting observation that when wife and husbands both are equally educated higher rate of violence is seen in North East, West and South region. These regions are educationally empowered and having matriarchal society.