Violence at Home: The Consequence Poverty Makes Normal
Violence against women is not caused by poverty. It is caused by unequal power, and it exists in rich and poor households alike. But poverty determines what a woman can do about it. It decides whether she has money to leave, a family that will take her in, a police station that will record her complaint, and a court that will act. Poverty does not create the violence; it removes the exits.
Part 6 of 10 in our series on the consequences of poverty and inequality on girls and women. Series overview · All articles.
What the evidence says
The World Health Organization estimates that about one in three women worldwide has experienced physical or sexual violence, mostly from an intimate partner. Its 2021 analysis found that 27% of ever-partnered women aged 15 to 49 had experienced physical or sexual intimate partner violence. The health consequences are severe and long-lasting: injury, chronic pain, depression, anxiety, substance use, unwanted pregnancy and maternal complications.
Violence also has an economic dimension. Women who experience violence lose earnings, miss work and face medical costs. The World Bank and UN Women have estimated that violence costs countries a significant share of GDP through lost productivity and service use. The cost is borne first by the woman, and then by her children, who are more likely to experience or witness violence themselves.
How poverty and inequality drive it
Several mechanisms link poverty to violence. Economic stress increases household conflict, and alcohol and substance use often accompany it. Women who depend on a partner's income have less room to leave. Poor women are more likely to encounter police and courts that are distant, expensive or dismissive. And where child marriage is common, girls enter relationships before they have the confidence, education or legal standing to negotiate.
Inequality adds a normative layer. In communities where men are expected to control women's movement and decisions, violence is more likely to be tolerated and less likely to be reported. The same act may be treated as a private matter in one place and a crime in another. That difference is not about the women; it is about the institutions around them.
What it does to a girl's life
For a girl, exposure to violence at home changes what she expects from relationships. Girls who witness violence are more likely to accept it as normal, and more likely to be married early. At school, trauma affects concentration and attendance. At work, it limits confidence and negotiation. In pregnancy, it increases the risk of miscarriage, preterm birth and low birth weight.
Leaving is rarely a single decision. A woman may return several times because she has nowhere to go, no money for a lawyer, or children in school. Economic independence is often the difference between enduring violence and escaping it. That is why livelihood programmes and legal support are violence-prevention programmes, even when they are not labelled that way.
In India
NFHS-5 found that 29.3% of ever-married women aged 18 to 49 had experienced spousal physical or sexual violence. Reporting remains low, and many women describe violence as normal or unavoidable. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, provides civil remedies, and one-stop centres and helplines exist, but access varies sharply by district.
CRY has documented how child marriage, dowry and economic dependence increase girls' exposure to violence, and how girls who leave school early are more vulnerable. India also has strong legal and institutional tools: the domestic violence law, the POSH Act for workplaces, and a network of one-stop centres. The gap is implementation, awareness and the economic support that makes a complaint survivable.
What changes it
The evidence supports a combination of legal, economic and community interventions. Economic independence, safe shelter, legal aid and accessible police response all increase the chance that a woman can leave. Community programmes that work with men and boys on norms reduce acceptance of violence. School-based programmes that teach consent and equality show promise.
For girls, the most protective factors are finishing school, delaying marriage and having a trusted adult to turn to. None of these guarantees safety, but each increases the options available when violence occurs. The goal is not only to respond after violence, but to reduce the conditions that make it likely and the dependence that makes it hard to escape.
What Sneha Karma Foundation does
Our Community Wellbeing work supports girls and families through health and community programmes, and our Community Education work challenges the norms that make violence acceptable. Keeping girls in school is part of the same effort.
If you or someone you know is in danger, contact local emergency services. In India, the Women's Helpline is 181 and the national emergency number is 112.
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Frequently asked questions
No. Violence is caused by unequal power and control. Poverty increases vulnerability and removes the economic and legal exits that would let a woman leave.
Fear, economic dependence, children, housing, stigma and a lack of faith in police or courts. Leaving is often safer and easier with money, shelter and legal support.
Injury, chronic pain, depression, anxiety, substance use, unwanted pregnancy and pregnancy complications. The effects often last long after the violence stops.
Support organisations that provide shelter, legal aid and livelihoods. You can also give to programmes that keep girls in school and women independent.
Sources
- WHO: violence against women
- UN Women: ending violence against women
- World Bank: violence against women
- NFHS-5 India fact sheet
- CRY: child rights
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