National Family Health Survey 2 and 3

Brief Description

The second National Family Health Survey (NFHS-2), conducted in 1998-99, was an important step in strengthening the database for implementation of the Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) approach adopted by India after the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) in 1994 in Cairo. In addition to the population and health components covered in NFHS-1, NFHS-2 collected information on the quality of health and family welfare services, reproductive health problems, the status of women, and domestic violence. NFHS-2 covered a representative sample of over 91,000 ever-married women age 15-49 years across all 26 states of India. 

Similarly, in 2005-2006, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MOHFW) conducted the Third National Family Health Survey (NFHS-3) in 29 states of India.  The NFHS-3 contained one module question on domestic violence that was included as part of the Women's Questionnaire on different forms of violence experienced by women aged 15-49.  The NFHS-3 was carried out in states of more than 30 million inhabitants, in which 4,000 interviews with married women were completed, whereas in states between 5 and 30 million, 3,000 interviews were completed, and in states of less than 5 million, 1,500 interviews were completed.  The module question collected detailed information on physical, sexual, and emotional violence perpetrated by husbands against their wives, and it also gathered information on physical consequences of spousal violence, as well as information on violence perpetrated by wives against their husbands.