Empowering Women Through Digital Transformation: A Path to Mitigate Intimate Partner Violence in India

The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that a staggering one-third of women worldwide face intimate partner violence (IPV). Recent developments in digital transformations, such as the rapid use of mobile phones, internet use, and mobile use for financial transitions, have been evident. Earlier research shows that women’s digital empowerment or access to digital technologies protects them from IPV. However, there is less evidence on how various digital transformations in women’s lives lead to digital empowerment and protection from IPV. The study addresses whether empowering women through digital transformations leads to IPV prevention or reduction. We used National Family Health Survey-5 round data conducted during 2020–21 in a representative sample of India. We have constructed an additive index of digital empowerment using several questions about mobile use. The study results show that women with high digital empowerment reduced the odds of intimate partner violence when controlling socioeconomic variables.