Suicides by housewives high in states where domestic violence is normalised

Suicides among housewives are higher in states where domestic violence has societal acceptance and fewer cases of cruelty are reported, data from a national report on crimes shows.

 

Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra reported the most suicides by housewives in 2023, according to the National Crime Records Bureau, which typically publishes its reports after yearly gaps. West Bengal, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, and Chhattisgarh reported high numbers of such deaths. Tamil Nadu, an industrial powerhouse where the female labour participation is higher than the national average, reported 3,000 deaths — the highest in India. 

 

However, when the 10 states are compared with those reporting the most cases of cruelty by husbands or their relatives, any seeming correlation weakens. West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh together account for the largest share of reported domestic violence cases but not of suicides by housewives. Tamil Nadu ranked among states that recorded the fewest cases of cruelty to women.

 

On average, states that report more cases of cruelty record relatively fewer suicides. Those that report fewer cases of cruelty, like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, have higher suicides. This suggests that underreporting of domestic violence and limited access to help are stronger predictors of suicide. 

 

According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), 2019-21, in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, more than three-fourths of women and a majority of men say a husband is justified in hitting his wife under certain circumstances. That share is among the highest in India. In 10 states where acceptance of wife-beating is high, on average recorded higher suicides by housewives.

 

Conversely, states where men and women are less likely to justify wife-beating — Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh — show relatively lower suicide incidence even though such domestic violence exists. This suggests that societal acceptance of abuse, rather than its actual frequency, may shape how women respond to distress, whether by seeking help or by giving up. 

 

Data in the two reports shows that where domestic violence is normalised, it is less likely to be reported and more likely to end in self-harm. States that appear safer on paper may in fact be the ones where abuse goes unspoken and unrecorded. The data highlights a cultural dimension of women’s vulnerability — one that cannot be captured by police statistics alone.