COMMENTARY Economic & Political Weekly EPW november 22, 2014 vol xlIX no 47 19 Redefining Domestic Violence Experiences of Dalit Women D Sujatha D Sujatha (sdevarapalli05@gmail.com) is a researcher with Anveshi (Women’s Studies Research Centre), Hyderabad. Domestic violence against dalit women has not caught the attention of social science researchers. The National Family Health Survey 2006 showed that the prevalence of violence is much higher against women belonging to the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes as compared to women outside these categories. This article is based on fieldwork done in parts of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Among the causes for domestic violence against dalit women were male alcoholism, the man’s suspicious nature, dowry demands, husband’s extramarital relations and the complex social situations related to inter-caste marriages. Dalit and tribal women, thus, end up facing caste discrimination and harassment outside the home and domestic violence inside. D omestic violence against women is a universal problem. Also known as wife beating and dowry violence, domestic violence is defined by the United Nations ( UN) Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women (2003) as “any act of gender based vio- lence that results in or is likely to result in, physical sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women including threats of such acts, or deprivation of liberty whether occurring in public or in private life” (Saumya 2010). Domestic violence was recognised as a criminal offence in India in 1983. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act of 2005 covers violence against married women (by husbands and others), and unmarried women by anyone (including boyfriends). Domestic violence occurs in all socio- economic and cultural population sub- groups; and in all societies and there are countless studies on this subject. However, the domestic violence experienced by dalit women has not caught the attention of social science researchers till date. In the general discourse so far, the experi- ences of dalit women of violence in the family tend to be treated (i) as a legal issue by the law and order machinery; (ii) as violation of her human rights by women’s rights groups, dalit rights and human rights movements; (iii) as an insignificant issue compared to the vio- lence that dalit women face in the public spaces (for example violence by the dominant castes such as killings, atroci- ties, stripping). Even in the activism and discourse around domestic violence, the specificity of violence faced by dalit women largely remains unrecognised. The urgent need to study domestic violence against dalit women received momentum due to the National Family Health Survey – NFHS (2006) which showed that the prevalence of violence is much higher against women belonging to the scheduled castes and tribes ( SC/ ST ) as compared to women outside these cat- egories. The percentage of SC women facing physical violence is 41% while that of ST women is 39.3%, Other Backward Classes ( OBC) women is 34.1% and that of other women facing physical violence at the domestic level is 26.8%. In terms of emotional violence, SC women account for 19%, ST women 19.5%, OBC women 16.9%, and other women 20.9%. As part of the project on “Domestic Violence and Dalit Women” for Anveshi (Women’s Studies Research Centre, Hyderabad 2012-13), I did secondary re- search on the subject. Funded by Oxfam India, the fieldwork was conducted in Hyderabad, Warangal and Karim Nagar in Telangana, the East Godavari District in coastal Andhra and Ananthapur in Rayalaseema region of Andhra Pradesh. The problems of women in any society are not homogeneous, being different ac- cording to caste and class. Unlike women from the dominant castes, dalit women are used to working outside the home and their labour is considered crucial for the survival of the family. More often than not, the home runs on her income since the man tends to spend his on him- self, including for alcohol. In rural areas, 70% of the dalit women are agricultural labourers. Their struggle revolves around procuring food, fuel and water for their families. In urban India, they work as domestic servants, construction labourers and casual labourers. These women are subordinated in terms of power relations to men in patriarchal society. Rape and sexual abuse of dalit women by men of the dominant castes and classes is quite common in India. They are subjected to severe exploitation by the dominant-caste landlords and also face violence from their alcoholic husbands (Rege 1995). The everyday discrimination against dalit women is further marked by mental, emotional and physical violence by their spouses and other family members. Ignored by Reformers Social movements, including the dalit movement and the women’s movement in both pre- and post-Independence India, ignored the question of dalit women. The 18th century social reform move- ment in India addressed different forms