UGC NET Reading Comp Q48

Question

Read the passage and answer the questions that follow:

Violence against women comes in many forms and from various sources. One that is not highlighted enough is the violence they face from their birth family or natal kin-parents, siblings or close relatives. New Delhi based non-governmental organisation (NGO) Shakti Shalini recently brought out an incisive report, Unkahi-the Unspoken, documenting the rise of violence against women from natal families during the pandemic.

Normally, the natal family is the one a woman turns to for help, but during the pandemic, staying at home did not always mean staying safe for many women. A woman complaining about violence from a partner is more easily believable than one who makes such a allegations against her family conditioned as we are to the concept that elders and immediate kin offer protection and physical and emotional safety. So, to name and shame them is not easy.

Shakti Shalini's study was based on women who approached the NGO for help during the pandemic and encompassed those between 18 and 27 years, with 65% of them belonging to the 22-27 age group. A majority of these women belong to the working and lower middle classes.

Media reports during the pandemic highlighted the increase in the incidence of marital violence, but single women living with their natal families had similar experiences. The honorary secretary of Shakti Shalini, says, "Natal family violence is a phenomenon which is structurally based in our society and therefore, needs a structural approach. Though our society lays a claim on the integrity of 'family as a cohesive unit', it equally needs to be accepted that family is as much an environment of abuse of its vulnerable members especially girls and women."

The women spoke of abusive and coercive behaviour from their natal families and all of them reported emotional abuse and psychological trauma. Fifteen out of 20 women in the study faced physical and verbal violence that included being slapped. Three women reported physical abuse while one was threatened with forced marriage. In terms of the identity of the person who caused harm, in 60% of the cases, it was both male and female relatives.

All statements related to Shakti Shalini study are true except

Accepted Answer

It found that person responsible for violence were only men.