Wife Battering Practice in A Dalit Slum of Berhampur, Southern Odisha

Women though allowed to earn are incapacitated by lack of control over their own resources and earnings and suffer discrimination and violence. Thus, the changes are more superficial than penetrating. Women, in our country, may have entered public arena, but family values and patriarchy dominate and gender discrimination and family violence are kept as closely guarded secrets. Literature suggests a growing body of evidence highlighting the magnitude of the problem in India.

The present paper purely based on empirical data has been conducted in a Dalit slum of Berhampur-Bauri Sahi, in the Ganjam district of southern Odisha, India is designed to integrate both qualitative and quantitative data collection methods. A mixture of methods and information sources like observation and interview methods were administered for data collection. Few intensive case studies have been incorporated to make the study more comprehensive. Group discussions were also undertaken to generate information on norms, attitudes towards violence and wife battering and to understand the local vocabulary used in relation to violence. In addition to focus on the major contributing factors of wife battering, the paper will also focus on the findings of both the victims and their husband's opinion towards wife battering which will help to know their attitude towards this problem and will help to intervene strategy in raising awareness among both husband and wife in combating the issue in a better way.