Village Tolerance of Abuse, Women's Status, and the Ecology of Intimate Partner Violence in Rural Uttar Pradesh, India

We explore the multilevel determinants of intimate partner violence (IPV) against women in rural Uttar Pradesh, India. We focus on village tolerance of abuse and its ability to regulate the effects of individual and village-level women's status and social capital. Using individual and village data from the 1998 to 1999 India National Family Health Survey, we find that village tolerance and women's status at individual and village levels help explain the risk of IPV. Village tolerance of abuse also moderates the ability of village-level women's status and social capital to protect women from IPV. Results underscore the need to understand processes that sustain and/or challenge violence-legitimating norms.