He hit me; but it’s okay! Female submissiveness in marital abuse: A review in Indian context

India, a country with manifold multicultural bonds and relationships often witnesses a gross number of conflicted marital relationships. The plight in the frequency of marital abuse reporting in India has called gross public health attention globally. Multiple factors contribute to this arena in which, when we analyse can find out females submissiveness to report and or react to such kind of abusive incidences. The objective of this article is to review recent literature on female submissiveness in marital abuse. This narrative review is carried out to depict various perspectives that initiate abusive relationships and certain factors that prevent women from being subjected to rapid response. Literature relevant to the topic which was published within twenty years in prominent journals, newspapers, and websites has been reviewed thoroughly while writing this paper. Keywords for literature search included terms such as domestic violence, intimate partner violence/abuse, spouse abuse, married woman/female submissiveness, abusive marital relationships, and marital abuse. There is a paucity of studies analysing psychological and socio-demographic determinants of this submissiveness within such relationships in India. Several factors such as cultural, psycho-social, environmental attributes may prompt submissiveness among females in abusive marital relationships, which often leads to psychopathology and physical ailments. It is important to understand the need for a multidisciplinary approach to preventing marital abuse as a public health issue. By preventing and modulating such factors public health and women’s well-being can be preserved in various domains.