Recent global estimates by World Health Organization (WHO) on violence against women show India’s numbers especially reported cases to be unexpectedly low, but many experts argue that this under-represents the true scope. Under-reporting, social stigma, fear of backlash, and systemic barriers mean many survivors never come forward, leaving a vast “hidden” burden of gender-based violence unrecorded.
Glimpse:
Although national surveys such as National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) indicate that around 31–32% of ever-married women in India have experienced some form of intimate partner or domestic violence. However, only a tiny fraction of these are formally reported to police or appear in official statistics revealing a deep gap between lived reality and official data. Studies using alternate survey methods confirm that under-reporting remains substantial, especially for domestic abuse and harassment.
Violence against women physical, sexual, emotional or psychological remains widespread across India, but official reported numbers tell only part of the story. According to NFHS-5, roughly 31–32% of ever-married women report having faced some form of domestic or intimate-partner violence.
Yet data from law-enforcement and crime records which often inform global reports from organisations such as WHO captures only a small fraction of this reality. For example, in 2022, the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) registered around 4.45 lakh “crimes against women” across India. Discrepancy arises because many survivors never report their experiences due to stigma, fear of social and familial backlash, financial dependence, lack of faith in justice systems, or lack of accessible support networks.
Research confirms underreporting is significant. A detailed study in Kerala using anonymised “list-randomization” methodology aimed at estimating true incidence with less social-desirability bias found that the actual lifetime incidence of domestic violence was 15%, compared to just 5.6% via direct questioning. The gap implies that many women stay silent even when they respond to surveys.
This under-representation has broader consequences. Because official data is used for policymaking, resource allocation, and public-health planning, under-reporting obscures the true scale of the problem resulting in insufficient shelters, weak violence-response infrastructure, underfunded support systems, and limited preventive programmes. As some policy experts write, accurate data is critical: without it, the “hidden burden” remains invisible in budgets and plans.
Moreover, many forms of gender-based violence emotional abuse, marital rape, sexual coercion, harassment, controlling behaviour, psychological abuse often do not result in visible injuries or may be normalized within families, making them even less likely to be reported.
Yet, behind the silence and under-counting are real and often severe health impacts. Survivors of gender-based violence are more likely to suffer chronic physical injuries, mental-health problems including depression, anxiety and PTSD, reproductive health complications, and intergenerational harms.
“Data may call it a drop but for dozens of women every hour, unrecorded violence becomes a lifelong wound. What we see is just the tip of the iceberg.”
By
HB Team
