Domestic Abuse Help in India

Commonly Asked Domestic Abuse Questions

DomesticShelters.org has heard from many victims and survivors in India, and created toolkits covering the topics that people tell us they want to learn more about. Domestic violence is a complex matter. We have developed nearly 1,000 articles on every aspect of domestic violence. If you don't find what you need below, enter your topic here and our search engine will find what you need.

• What is Domestic Abuse?
• Why Do Abusers Abuse?
• I'm Ready to Leave, Now What?
• What About My Kids?
• I Know Someone Who is Being Abused, What Should I Do?
• How Do I Heal After Abuse?

Learn More About Domestic Abuse

• The Five Types of Domestic Abuse
• What is Coercive Control?
• What is Emotional or Mental Abuse?
• Are You a Victim of Gaslighting?
• What is Financial Abuse?
• 14 Misconceptions About Domestic Abuse
• 25 Relationship Red Flags
• How Abusers Speak
• Profile of an Abuser
• Abuse Almost Always Escalates
• Power and Control Wheel Explains Cycle of Violence
• Collecting Evidence of Abuse Without Danger
• Calling a Helpline: What You Can Expect
• When It's Time to Go
• Leaving Without Dying

National Domestic Abuse Helplines and Resources for India

If you are experiencing domestic violence in India, this page provides you with the essential resources needed to find help in North, West, South, East & Northeast, and Central India. For life-threatening emergencies, call 112.

Swayam 91 98307 72814

Swayam is a feminist organization committed to advancing women's rights and ending discrimination and violence against women and girls, based in Kolkata. Through their co-ordinated programme of research and awareness-raising, they work to challenge the societal norms and values that perpetuate violence against women and to influence public policy decisions that affect women's rights.

NARI

Website containing the National Repository of Information for Women which lists helplines and One Stop Centres, free legal aid available to women throughout the country.

Operation Peacemaker

Domestic Violence Helpline: 1800 212 9131

Operation PeaceMaker aims to reduce domestic violence in India through thousands of PeaceMakers who are trained in family and marriage counseling and all aspects of the Domestic Violence Act. Our innovative approach using local women has proven extremely successful across Telangana.

Aks Foundation +91 8793 088 814

Provides support to victims, from all over the country and abroad, of abuse and violence in order to empower them to become survivors. They operate a 24-hour crisis line for victims of abuse and violence which currently receives over 3000 calls a year. Aks Foundation also conducts community education and gender sensitization programs, talks and educational workshops and has been instrumental in raising a voice against the social evil of violence against women and children.

Ministry of Women and Child Development

The Ministry works to ensure the protection of women's rights both within and outside the domestic sphere of home and promotes inter-Ministerial and inter-sectoral collaboration to create gender equitable and child-centred legislation, policies and programmes.

Find a list of One Stop Centres which provide an integrated range of services to women affected by violence. These services include medical aid, police assistance, legal aid/case management, psychosocial counselling and temporary support services. Women in distress can reach the Centres physically or over the phone. One Sakhi Centre is to be set up in every district of India.

Domestic Abuse Statistics in India

• 37.2% of married women in India have experienced spousal violence (Source)
• Only 2 percent [of married women who experience spousal violence] sought help from the police about half of these women ended up in hospital at some point owing to the violence they experienced (Source)
• A higher proportion of women, compared with men, find wife-beating justifiable under some circumstances, according to the NHFS-III. Beatings are considered acceptable by more than 50 percent of both sexes.
• There is one dowry death in the country every 78 h, one act of sexual harassment every 59 min, one rape every 34 min, one act of torture every 12 min and almost one in every three married women experienced domestic violence. (Source)
• The International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) in multiple centers in India reported that 85% of men admit they had indulged in violent behavior against their wives at least once in last 12 months. 57% of men admitted to have sexual abuse with their wives. 32% of men admitted to committing violence on their pregnant wives. (Source)