Domestic Risk Factors, Violence and Marital Dissolution: Evidence from Demographic and Health Survey of India

The rising divorce rate in developing nations is a cause of concern among social scientists. Though women’s ability to dissolve marriages in response to domestic violence can be observed as an agency, it has long been perceived as undesirable for society. The paper examines the complex association between domestic risk factors, violence, and the likelihood of marital dissolution. Using the fourth round of Demographic and Health Survey data, we unravel these relations in India, where domestic violence is extremely high compared to the divorce rate. We find that divorce incidences are rising among Indian women as a protest against domestic violence towards them. Marital dissolution is more common among the victims of severe physical violence and sexual violence than those of emotional violence or less severe violence. Economic empowerment in terms of land ownership and employment has helped the process of dissolving abusive marriages.