Understanding communication and Violence within marital life among youth: evidences from India

Violence within marriage is not uncommon in India. Mainly husband perpetrates physical and sexual violence on wife. However, not much is known about the predictors of such violence from married men and women’s perspective separately. Youth in India study, a sub nationally representative survey, help us to explore this dimension minutely. About one fourth of married men and women perpetrated physical violence and experienced the same respectively, while one in three young women reported coercive sex perpetrated by husband. The result reveals that married men with higher age at marriage residing in non nuclear family and urban parts, with better economic condition are less likely to carry out physical violence. Consumption of drug and alcohol, extra marital relation and witnessing own violence at childhood; enhance the chance of physical violence in marital life. Interestingly men who have witnessed parental violence in childhood are less likely to commit both form of violence. North- South divides are also distinct; experience of physical violence is more in the south while for sexual violence it is other way round. Love marriage perpetrates more violence while non payment of dowry enhances the chances of less violence.