2 What increases their susceptibility to such violence?
NFHS data shows that multiple factors affect the likelihood of such violence against women. While 18.3% of women aged between 18 and 19 have suffered sexual or physical violence either in the last year or in their lifetime, this number increases with the age of the women (to 35.3%) till the 30-39-year age group. To be sure, it does come down slightly in the 40-49 age group (35.2%). Meanwhile, rural women are far more likely to have suffered physical or sexual violence than their urban counterparts. Higher educational and income levels do help bring down the likelihood of physical violence against women, but as the Shraddha case shows, it does not eliminate it.