New Delhi: Over 70 percent women in 11 states and one union territory never sought help or told anyone about the violence experienced by them, the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS) found.
According to NFHS-5, the proportion of such women was over 80 percent in four states and one union territory — Assam (81.2 percent), Bihar (81.8 percent), Manipur (83.9 percent), Sikkim (80.1 percent), and Jammu and Kashmir (83.9 percent).
Tripura (76 percent), Telangana (71 percent), West Bengal (76.3 percent), Maharashtra (76.4 percent), Goa (75.7 percent), Gujarat (70.6 percent) and Andhra Pradesh (79.7 percent) are the other states where more than 70 percent women never sought help or told anyone about the violence experienced by them.
Less than 10 percent women sought help to escape from physical violence in eight states — Assam (6.6 percent), Andhra Pradesh (7.7 percent), Bihar (8.9 percent), Goa (9.6 percent), Himachal Pradesh (9.6 percent), Jammu and Kashmir (7.1 percent), Manipur (1.2 percent), and Nagaland (4.8 percent).
The sources of help for those who sought it included their own family, husband’s family, neighbour, police, lawyer and religious leader.
The types of spousal violence experienced by the women were cuts, bruises, aches, eye injuries, broken bones, severe burns, broken teeth, sprains and dislocations among others.
