Hi Billy, I don't have any data. But I do know that in many subcultures, a husband slapping a wife is considered as normal as a parent spanking a child (and of course, vice versa in Northern Europe).
So, I could easily believe that 40% of Indian Households engage in behavior that would qualify in the West as spousal abuse; whether it has the same destructive connotations as it would in the West is a much more difficult question. If you include various forms of emotional abuse -- especially from in-laws -- the number might even be higher... -- Ernie P. On Mar 27, 2012, at 1:12 PM, [email protected] wrote: > > Chris : > Maybe Ernie can shed some light on this. However, I am suspicious about the > data. > 40 % seems to be exaggerated, especially since the article admits that many > hospitals --obviously relevant to the question of effects of domestic > violence-- > have poor records and don't systematically collect such information. Where, > then, > are the figures coming from ? > > IF the answer is "women's empowerment groups" then you can count on inflated > numbers. > > This is not to say that there isn't a serious problem. But it would be plenty > serious if > the rate was "only" 10 % or 15 %. But 40 % really seems to me to be off the > charts. > > Reason for my skepticism is the way that American feminist groups habitually > exaggerate > similar numbers here, like the false claim that one out of three US women are > rape victims > --or victims of attempted rape-- at some point in their lives. Christina > Hoff Summers > exploded that claim back in the 90s as seriously flawed. When a writer > exaggerates for > effect that is one thing ; when a policy influencing organization does it, > things may > be very serious and rise to the level of fraud. > > Where a higher than normal domestic violence rate is verified from anecdotal > evidence, > but a lot of it, is among Muslim families. Yet the article only mentions > Hindu names. > Uhhhh, someone is trying to mess with readers' heads. > > Still, to use the example of acid attacks on women, which I once looked into, > there definitely is a problem in India outside of the Muslim community. > Clearly > the problem is much worse among Muslims but it definitely exists > among some Hindus. > > > Anyway, Ernie ought to have access to evidence on the subject. > > Billy > > > =========================================== > > > 3/27/2012 9:25:18 A.M. Pacific Daylight Time, [email protected] writes: > Since India gets mentioned here from time to time, I thought you might be > interested in this from another discussion group of mine that deals with > family and divorce issues. The attorney who sent this helped a female friend > of ours from India work out a difficult situation with her ex-husband who had > mental health problems. > > > > -------------- > > > > A significant number of my international family law cases involve DV. > Globalization requires that family law professionals understand what happens > in other cultures in order to understand the experience and expectations of > the families we work with. > > > > From The New York Times: > > > > THE FEMALE FACTOR: When Home Is No Refuge for Women > > > > As more Indian women share their experiences, it is clear how widespread > domestic violence is, cutting across community, caste and economic lines. But > India has begun to acknowledge the problem. > > > > http://nyti.ms/GUKMGz > > > > > > > > > > > > > -- > Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community > <[email protected]> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism > Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org > > > -- > Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community > <[email protected]> > Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism > Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
