PANAJI
In grim figures released by the National Family Health Survey, sexual violence against women has increased more than three-fold in a span of five years.
According to the survey 2019-20, the percentage of women aged 18-29 years who had experienced sexual violence by age of 18 has increased from 1.3% (in 2015-16) to 4.6% (in 2019-20).
However, in rural areas, the figures were still higher (8.8%) compared to urban (1.6%).
Spousal violence, however, showed a decline. The percentage of spousal violence cases was 12.9% in 2015-16, while in 2019-20 it is reduced to 8.3%.
According to the survey, use of family planning methods had also increased. As per the survey in 2015-16 only 26.3% married women used family planning methods while in 2019-20, 67.9% married women were found to be using family planning methods.
In 2015-16 around 7.1% used contraceptives while in 2019-20 around 23.2% used contraceptives for family planning.
The use of contraceptive pills also showed an increasing trend. It was 0.3% in 2015-16 while in 2019-20 it rose to 2.7%.
On the sterilisation count, in 2015-16 around 0.9% men had done sterilization while in 2019-20 the figure was around 2.4%.
The survey also revealed that urban people were more frequently using family planning methods. Due to this, the birth rate in the State decreased from 1.7% in 2015-16 to 1.3% in 2019-20.
NFHS-5 fieldwork for Goa was conducted from August 30, 2019 to November 26, 2019 by Nielsen India Pvt. Ltd. Information was gathered from 1,856 households, 2,030 women and 313 men.
