Background

Domestic violence (DV), or Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), is a hushed up act that is unfortunately quite prevalent in India. Research across 2019–2021 estimates that DV occurs to an average of 31.2% of Indian women (Mishra et al., 2024). It further delineates the different types of violence that accompany DV—physical, emotional, and sexual—with Karnataka reported to be one of the worst affected states, with a staggering 47.3% prevalence rate.

However, studies continue to inform about how low education levels, religion, and caste are significant predictive factors (Chandra et al., 2023). The causal mechanism seems to stem from a poor understanding of women as autonomous equals and a lack of empathy for victims’ suffering. Research also informs of other ways to usher in change, ranging from education to employment opportunities.

This is where Project Story Unfold comes in. We aim to cast a light on such hushed up matters in an attempt to foster conversations and enact meaningful change in the hopes that existing survivors possess the requisite resources to recover and no more victims join them.

Sources:

• https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.66113

• https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289596