Violence, homelessness, and women’s mental health

Syllabus: GS- I, Subject: Society and Social Justice, Topic: Issues of women, Issue: Mental health issues in women

Mental health issues in women:

• NHFS-5 reveals 30% of women aged 18-49 in India experience physical violence since age 15, with 6% reporting sexual violence.
• Evidence suggests a reciprocal relationship between violence and mental health conditions.
• Structural barriers like poverty and caste, along with violence, lead to a loss of agency and disrupt conventional notions of home.

Concerns:

• Mainstream discussions are limited to depression and anxiety, sidelining the link between violence and psychological distress.

The way ahead:

• Solutions to violence against women should tackle systemic issues like
  • unpaid labor,
  • economic empowerment, and
  • gender norm challenges through education.

Exploring intersectionality and power dynamics, using feminist standpoint theory, can enrich the comprehension of mental health.

Source: The Hindu