Exposure to Violence among Adolescents in Families with Domestic Violence

Abstract

Studies of domestic violence in India have largely taken into account the experiences ofwomen. In contrast, studies which focus on children’s exposure to domestic violence are rare.This study assesses the levels of domestic violence in families and the frequency ofadolescents’ exposure to it by analysing the accounts of discourses of adolescents themselves.A quantitative approach was adopted to explore the experiences of adolescents. Therespondents were school-going adolescents from Kasaragod district of Kerala, India. Onlythose students who admitted to the occurrence of domestic violence in their homes and were
willing to be part of the study were considered. The data was collected through interviewswith adolescents growing up in families in which they experienced their fathers’ violenceagainst their mothers. This research is relevant and useful to understand how much violenceoccurs in the adolescents’ homes and the levels of this to which they are exposed.