An Autopsy Based Study of Socio-Etiological Aspects in Dowry Death Cases

Domestic violence has been an intrinsic part of the society we are living in. The most heinous form since ages is harassment for dowry finally ending up in death of the woman. Determining the reasons behind the dowry deaths helps the government in revising the laws from time to time to take a serious action against the accused of dowry deaths. The aim and objective of the study is to know the socio-etiological profile and other factors which lead to the death of the woman, and also the factors affecting alarming rise in the dowry deaths, so as to suggest the authorities to act further in eradicating this social evil. The study was conducted on 100 cases, at Guntur Medical College, Guntur. Most of the victims (85 %) were aged between 18 to 30 years. An unemployed female (76%) in the first 3 years of marital life (77%) was the major victim in our study. Suicidal burns (62%) was the most common method of dowry death. Framing of new rules and acts with time helps to decrease the incidence of crime against women, thereby morbidity and mortality.