Report on Natal Family Violence and its Implications for Sustainable Development Goals

Introduction and Executive Summary

A study by the Kolkata-based feminist organization, Swayam, reveals that violence against women within their natal families is a significantly underreported issue in India. This form of domestic violence poses a direct threat to the achievement of several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), most notably SDG 5 (Gender Equality). The research, based on work with over 50 survivors across seven districts in West Bengal, calls for urgent legal reforms and broader research to address this systemic violation of human rights.

Key Findings of the Study

• Prevalence and Forms of Abuse: The study documents widespread abuse, highlighting a critical failure to protect women and girls.
  • 75% of women experienced verbal and emotional abuse.
  • 68% of women faced physical abuse.
  • 20% of women were victims of child abuse.
• Primary Perpetrators: The violence is predominantly perpetrated by male family members, including fathers, brothers, and other male relatives, with mothers and grandmothers also implicated in some cases.
• Systemic Deprivation and Control: The violence extends beyond physical harm to encompass systemic denial of fundamental rights, directly impeding progress on SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 4 (Quality Education). This includes:
  • Denial of education, mobility, healthcare, and adequate nutrition.
  • Imposition of life decisions without consent, such as forced marriages.
  • Burdensome care work and restrictions on personal freedoms.
• Normalization of Violence: The research found that violence is often normalized and transmitted across generations, disguised as “discipline,” “family honour,” or “concern,” making it an invisible and deeply entrenched problem.

Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The findings underscore a profound conflict with the global 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The persistence of natal family violence directly undermines progress on the following goals:

1. SDG 5: Gender Equality: The study’s findings are a stark illustration of the challenges to achieving gender equality.
   • Target 5.1 & 5.2: The discrimination, control, and physical, emotional, and sexual violence documented, starting from female foeticide, are direct violations of the commitment to end all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls.
   • Target 5.3: The practice of forced marriage is a clear contravention of the goal to eliminate all harmful practices.
2. SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions: The failure of existing systems to address this issue points to institutional weakness.
   • Target 16.2 & 16.3: The underreporting of violence and the failure of community institutions to recognize it as a legitimate claim highlight a gap in providing access to justice and ending abuse and violence against children and women. The call for stronger laws directly addresses the need for effective and accountable institutions.
3. SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) & SDG 4 (Quality Education): The denial of healthcare and education to girls and women perpetuates cycles of inequality.
   • Denying access to healthcare and subjecting women to physical and mental abuse is contrary to ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being for all.
   • Preventing girls from accessing education eliminates their potential and violates the principle of inclusive and equitable quality education.

Survivor Testimony

The multi-generational and severe nature of the abuse is captured in a survivor’s account: “I was sent to my maternal grandparents’ house when I was one year old… My grandfather would throw me on the ground and kick me. My grandmother would pinch me, bang my head against the wall frequently. My uncles beat me up and smashed my head against the wall when I was little. Eventually, my brother also began beating me up.”

Recommendations for Policy and Action to Advance the SDGs

To address these systemic failures and advance the SDGs, Swayam has issued the following recommendations:

1. Strengthen Legal Frameworks (SDG 16): Formally recognize natal family violence as a key dimension of domestic violence within the law and enhance legal aid mechanisms to ensure access to justice for survivors.
2. Ensure Economic and Social Empowerment (SDG 1, 4, 5, 8): Guarantee women’s access to property, quality education, and livelihood opportunities to foster economic independence and break cycles of abuse.
3. Build Institutional Capacity (SDG 16): Provide comprehensive training for frontline workers, police, and judicial and community institutions to sensitize them and equip them to support survivors effectively.
4. Promote Intersectional Research (SDG 17): Conduct extensive, intersectional research across India to understand the full scope of the problem, which is essential for developing effective, survivor-centered policy solutions at a national level.

Analysis of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

1. SDG 5: Gender Equality

   • The article’s central theme is violence against women and girls within their natal families, a direct challenge to gender equality. It discusses various forms of discrimination, including female foeticide, denial of education and healthcare, and forced marriages, all of which are core issues addressed by SDG 5.

2. SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

   • The article highlights the failure of existing legal frameworks to address natal family violence, pointing out that it is “largely invisible in mainstream conversations on domestic violence.” The call to “strengthen laws and legal aid mechanisms” and ensure justice for survivors directly connects to the goal of building effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions.

3. SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being

   • The study’s findings that women face “verbal and emotional abuse” and “physical abuse” directly impact their physical and mental health. The article also notes that women were denied “healthcare,” which is a fundamental aspect of this goal. The survivor’s testimony of being kicked, beaten, and having her head banged against a wall illustrates severe threats to well-being.

4. SDG 4: Quality Education

   • The article explicitly states that as part of the violence and discrimination, “Women were denied education.” This directly relates to the goal of ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and eliminating gender disparities in learning.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

1. Targets under SDG 5 (Gender Equality)

   • Target 5.1: End all forms of discrimination against all women and girls everywhere.
     
     The article describes systemic discrimination, stating that violence “starts even before birth through female foeticide and continues in many ways through discrimination, control, abuse, and forced marriages.”
   • Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres.
     
     This is the core focus of the article, which details natal family violence—a form of violence in the private sphere—including findings that “75% of the women faced verbal and emotional abuse, and 68% faced physical abuse.”
   • Target 5.3: Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage.
     
     The article explicitly mentions “forced marriages” as a form of violence women face in their natal families. It also refers to “female foeticide” as the starting point of this violence.
   • Target 5.c: Adopt and strengthen sound policies and enforceable legislation for the promotion of gender equality.
     
     The recommendation from the study to “strengthen laws and legal aid mechanisms” and to “recognise natal family violence as a key dimension of domestic violence” directly aligns with this target.

2. Targets under SDG 16 (Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions)

   • Target 16.1: Significantly reduce all forms of violence and related death rates everywhere.
     
     The article’s entire premise is based on identifying and calling for an end to the “huge” and “underreported” violence women face from their natal families.
   • Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children.
     
     The study found that “20% faced child abuse,” and a survivor’s testimony recounts severe physical abuse that began when she was a child.
   • Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law… and ensure equal access to justice for all.
     
     The article points out that “community institutes fail to recognise this as a legitimate claim against violence” and that women refuse to “file cases against the abusers,” indicating a lack of access to justice which the study seeks to rectify through legal reform.

3. Targets under SDG 4 (Quality Education)

   • Target 4.5: Eliminate gender disparities in education and ensure equal access to all levels of education… for the vulnerable.
     
     The finding that “Women were denied education” is a direct reference to the gender disparity in educational access that this target aims to eliminate.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

1. Indicators for SDG 5 Targets

   • For Target 5.2 (Eliminate violence against women): The article provides direct statistical indicators from the study: “75% of the women faced verbal and emotional abuse, and 68% faced physical abuse.” The statement that this violence is “widely underreported” implies the need for better data collection on the prevalence of violence from non-partner family members.
   • For Target 5.3 (Eliminate harmful practices): The mention of “female foeticide” implies the use of the sex ratio at birth as an indicator. The reference to “forced marriages” implies an indicator measuring the proportion of women married before a certain age without their consent.
   • For Target 5.c (Strengthen policies and legislation): An implied indicator is the existence and enforcement of laws that specifically recognize and criminalize natal family violence within the domestic violence framework. The article’s call for such laws suggests they are currently lacking.

2. Indicators for SDG 16 Targets

   • For Target 16.1 (Reduce all forms of violence): The prevalence rates of physical (68%) and verbal/emotional (75%) abuse found in the study serve as a baseline indicator for measuring reductions in violence.
   • For Target 16.2 (End violence against children): The study’s finding that “20% faced child abuse” is a specific indicator that can be tracked over time.

3. Indicators for SDG 4 Targets

   • For Target 4.5 (Eliminate gender disparities in education): The statement that “Women were denied education” implies that progress can be measured using gender parity indices for school enrollment, attendance, and educational attainment levels in the affected regions.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: thehindu.com