Does Perceived Sexual Rights Affect Sexual Violence among Married Adolescents in India? A Cross-Cultural Analysis

Shrikant Singh, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)
Alankar Malviya, CHARCA

The paper explores linkages between perception about sexual rights, conceptualizing equality in sexual relations and extent of accepting husband’s extra marital relations and experience of sexual violence. Findings are based on information collected from 2478 female adolescents representing different cultural settings. 52 percent women reported experiencing coercive sex with 91 percent in Bihar followed by Karnataka (64%), Andhra Pradesh (30%) and Uttar Paradesh (29%) and Mizoram (14%). The odds ratio shows that women’s perception that ‘man can have sex irrespective of women’s wish’ is the most significant predictor of coercive sex followed by their educational attainment. The extents of associations are profound in Bihar and Karntaka. However, control over husbands extra marital relations and memberships of CBO/NGO are not significant predictors. Therefore, any strategy to reduce the gap between perception about sexual rights and sexual violence, the core issue for addressing violence against women, should account its cultural manifestations.