Economically disadvantaged women are particularly vulnerable to suffer violence because of their poverty, low rates of literacy and their overall marginality. This dissertation research project by a cultural anthropologist at Brown University will examine the structural determinants of domestic violence in an urban slum in northeastern Mumbai (Bombay) in the western state of Maharashtra, India using interviews, observations and analysis of secondary data. This research will investigate the ways in which women articulate and understand domestic violence in the specific cultural context; the degree to which economic empowerment of women decreases women's susceptibility to domestic violence; the role of women's natal and marital families in perpetuating or mitigating domestic violence; the specific dynamics of the marital relationship which may predispose some women to wife-beating and not others; the capacities of macro institutions and social networks at the community level to prevent domestic violence and finally the ways in which national, state, and municipal systems are addressing issues of domestic violence. This project will add to the existing literature on gender and health and women's empowerment in developing countries and will call attention to women's perceptions of violence and strategies used to cope with it which may differ markedly from those employed by women in western settings. The intellectual merit of this project stems from its examination of an understudied population; from its ability to add to the theoretical underpinnings of women's empowerment in a marginal setting; and from its use of an innovative research methodology integrating statistical analysis with qualitative research. Broader impacts include the interest of social agencies in understanding the contextual determinants of gender-based violence in India. Women's empowerment is integral to the nation's development and also has significant effects on major demographic outcomes such as fertility, child health and reproductive health as well as other social indices. The evidence gathered through this research can be utilized by social service agencies to design and implement intervention programs that will prevent and mitigate domestic violence by using community-based initiatives.
