Marital Violence: Navigating Men's Perspectives through the Lens of a Female Researcher

Abstract (English)

This article derives from ethnographic research undertaken for my doctoral dissertation on marital violence. It utilizes Giddens's theoretical framework of structure and agency to examine not only the agency of women but also the experiences of men who face criminal charges for marital violence. In the Indian context, where marriage is venerated as a sacred bond, the legal system endeavors to maintain the family unit, often through mediation processes orchestrated by non-governmental organizations and supported by the Indian government. Initially, my fieldwork focused on the operational ideologies of these NGOs concerning gender-based violence. As the study progressed, it broadened to encompass the lived experiences of both husbands and wives entangled in these conflicts. As an unmarried female researcher, I encountered ethical challenges: maintaining objectivity and delivering an impartial narrative, and the dilemma of formulating policy recommendations that could influence laws on domestic violence. This also involved employing a covert observation approach to access and faithfully represent men's perspectives, which required navigation through the intricate gender politics in domestic spaces and addressing marital violence as a woman researcher.