Family at Birth: A neglected site of domestic violence against women. New study exposes widespread violence against women at birth.
Sanchita Chatterjee, Kolkata 17 July 2025: A powerful new study, published by Kolkata-based feminist organisation SWAYAM, confronts a deeply rooted social myth: a woman’s family at birth (at birth) is a place of safety and unconditional love. Based on the testimonies of 50 women from diverse backgrounds, the study reveals that family at birth (NFV) is a widespread, systemic and unacknowledged form of domestic violence.
Contrary to popular belief, the family at birth often serves as the first site where gender-based violence is naturalised, internalised and transmitted across generations. Yet, NFV remains largely invisible in discussions of domestic violence, its various forms treated as separate, isolated harms rather than part of a larger pattern of abuse. Women’s experiences of control, abuse and emotional neglect within their birth families are rarely recognised as domestic violence, despite their profound and lasting effects.
Key findings: Violence is widespread across class, caste and religion.
80% of women interviewed had experienced one or more forms of NFV before marriage – emotional, verbal, physical, economic or sexual. Verbal and emotional abuse was the most common (over 75%), followed by physical violence (68%) and child sexual abuse (20%). Perpetrators within the family were fathers, brothers, male relatives and often mothers and other female relatives responsible for exerting control, perpetuating patriarchal values and causing harm. Violence was used not only to punish, but also to control women’s behaviour and choices. Denial of autonomy Women were deprived of education, mobility, healthcare and even nutrition. Decisions about their lives were made without their consent. Girls were burdened with care work and restricted in their clothing, movement and relationships. Child marriage was widespread and women were denied the right to choose their own partners, especially when they were of a different religion. Forced marriages were common, and women who returned from marital violence were shamed, rejected, or forced to leave again.
The economics of property, inheritance, and exclusion
A striking finding of the research is the role of property and inheritance in encouraging and justifying intra-familial violence. Women were systematically denied their rightful claim to property, seen not as legitimate heirs but as potential threats to male control over wealth.
Inheritance wars triggered rejection, control, and exclusion. Unmarried daughters were pressured to marry; married daughters returning from violence were viewed as intruders.