ABSTRACT
Indian culture is rooted in 5,000-year-old Vedic traditions. It is a patriarchal society with a strict social and familial hierarchy. Women and children, who occupy a lower status position within the family and society, are particularly vulnerable to abuse. Although family life is regarded as intensely private, within the past 20 to 30 years, domestic violence has been exposed as a problem in Indian as well as international media. For example, the world became aware of bride burning, a rare and extreme end to the more pervasive problem of dowry abuse. Such violence, directed at a young bride in order to extort money and luxury items from her family, captured the attention of Indian lawmakers and resulted in stronger legislation against it; however, despite the best intentions of the lawmakers, traditions enabling abuse of women persist in India.
