Bengaluru: Karnataka has recorded the steepest decline in spousal violence among all Indian states, according to the latest National Family Health Survey (NFHS-6) fact-sheet. The percentage of ever-married women reporting abuse dropped from 44.4% in 2019-21 to 14.1% in 2023-24, a reduction of over 30 percentage points. This decline far surpasses that of any other state.
National and State Comparisons
Nationally, India's spousal violence rate fell from 29.2% to 22.3% during the same period. Karnataka's dramatic improvement is particularly striking given its poor performance in the previous survey (NFHS-5), where it ranked as the worst-performing state, followed by Bihar (40.1%), Tamil Nadu (38.1%), Telangana (37.2%), and Chhattisgarh (40.1%). In NFHS-6, Karnataka now sits in the middle of the national distribution, with rates well below those of Bihar (36.1%), Telangana (30.8%), and Tamil Nadu (28.5%).
Assam, the second-biggest mover, reduced its rate from 32.2% to 16.2%, a 16-point drop—roughly half of Karnataka's improvement. A 30-point decline in a single survey cycle is rare and raises questions about data consistency.
Questionnaire Consistency
To address concerns that changes in the survey questionnaire might have influenced responses, a comparison of NFHS-5 and NFHS-6 questionnaires revealed that the question structure, routing logic, and response options are identical between the two rounds.
Expert Insights
Prof. CM Lakshmana, head of the Population Research Centre at the Institute for Social and Economic Change (ISEC), which conducted NFHS-6 in 15 districts of south Karnataka, attributed the decline to multiple factors: "I feel the decline reflects not one reform, but many—fewer child marriages, better education, greater financial inclusion, and women's stronger voice in households. Empowerment, when structural and sustained, becomes the most powerful shield against domestic violence."
Methodological Review
Further explanations may emerge from a thorough review of interviewer selection and training. However, these details are expected to be released only when the full state report is published by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. Until then, the headline number offers both hope and a prompt for deeper investigation.
What remains undisputed is the national trend: spousal violence is declining across India. The full NFHS-6 state report for Karnataka, which will include disaggregated data and methodological notes, may hold more answers.
