Unveiling the Hidden Geography of Intimate Partner Violence in India: A District-Level Analysis Using Small-Area Estimation

Waly Sene, UNFPA-WCARO
Jacques B. O. Emina, University of Kinshasa
Boladé Hamed Banougnin, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA)

This study addresses the critical gap in understanding the subnational prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in India. Using model-based small-area estimation techniques, it links data from the 2015-16 National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4) with the 2011 Indian Census to generate reliable district-level estimates of physical, emotional, and sexual IPV. The findings reveal substantial intrastate and interstate variations in IPV prevalence, highlighting the heterogeneity of the issue across India's 640 districts. This research underscores the necessity of moving beyond state-level approaches to address IPV, emphasizing the importance of localized interventions that consider the diversity of culture and context. The study's methodological innovation in generating granular estimates for critical indicators in data-scarce settings has broad implications for public health research and policymaking.

Keywords: Linked data sets , Spatial Demography, Small area estimation, Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

See extended abstract.