IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/socmed/v119y2014icp1-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The social construction of ‘dowry deaths’

Author

Listed:
  • Belur, Jyoti
  • Tilley, Nick
  • Daruwalla, Nayreen
  • Kumar, Meena
  • Tiwari, Vinay
  • Osrin, David

Abstract

The classification of cause of death is real in its consequences: for the reputation of the deceased, for her family, for those who may be implicated, and for epidemiological and social research and policies and practices that may follow from it. The study reported here refers specifically to the processes involved in classifying deaths of women from burns in India. In particular, it examines the determination of ‘dowry death’, a class used in India, but not in other jurisdictions. Classification of death is situated within a framework of special legal provisions intended to protect vulnerable women from dowry-related violence and abuse. The findings are based on 33 case studies tracked in hospital in real time, and interviews with 14 physicians and 14 police officers with experience of dealing with burns cases. The formal class into which any given death is allocated is shown to result from motivated accounting processes representing the interests and resources available to the doctors, victims, victim families, the victim's husband and his family, and ultimately, the police. These processes may lead to biases in research and to injustice in the treatment of victims and alleged offenders. Suggestions are made for methods of ameliorating the risks.

Suggested Citation

  • Belur, Jyoti & Tilley, Nick & Daruwalla, Nayreen & Kumar, Meena & Tiwari, Vinay & Osrin, David, 2014. "The social construction of ‘dowry deaths’," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 119(C), pages 1-9.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:119:y:2014:i:c:p:1-9
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.07.044
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0277953614004730
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.socscimed.2014.07.044?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Shiner, Michael & Scourfield, Jonathan & Fincham, Ben & Langer, Susanne, 2009. "When things fall apart: Gender and suicide across the life-course," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 69(5), pages 738-746, September.
    2. Siwan Anderson, 2007. "The Economics of Dowry and Brideprice," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 21(4), pages 151-174, Fall.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Corno, Lucia & Voena, Alessandra, 2023. "Child marriage as informal insurance: Empirical evidence and policy simulations," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 162(C).
    2. Margaux Suteau, 2020. "Inheritance Rights and Women's Empowerment in the Labor and Marriage Markets," THEMA Working Papers 2020-17, THEMA (THéorie Economique, Modélisation et Applications), Université de Cergy-Pontoise.
    3. Tanusree Mishra & Tanmoyee Banerjee (Chatterjee), 2020. "Child marriage: some facts from selected Indian states," Economics Bulletin, AccessEcon, vol. 40(3), pages 2093-2110.
    4. Charles Yuji Horioka & Akiko Terada-Hagiwara, 2016. "The Impact of Pre-marital Sex Ratios on Household Saving in Two Asian Countries: The Competitive Saving Motive Revisited," ISER Discussion Paper 0975, Institute of Social and Economic Research, Osaka University.
    5. Aasoglenang, Thaddeus Arkum & Susan, Libanus & Bonye, Patrick, 2024. "Bride price payment and marriage Stability: An ethnographic study of the Brifors of the Upper West Region, Ghana," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 35(C).
    6. Sarah Engebretsen & Mouhamadou Gueye & Andrea J Melnikas & Sékou Fofana & Bourama Fané & Sajeda Amin, 2020. "Adolescent girls’ migration and its impact on early marriage: Qualitative findings in Mali," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 15(3), pages 1-18, March.
    7. Felix Meier Zu Selhausen & Jacob Weisdorf, 2016. "A colonial legacy of African gender inequality? Evidence from Christian Kampala, 1895–2011," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 69(1), pages 229-257, February.
    8. Nahid Tavassoli, 2021. "The Gender-Biased Fertility Behavior: Evidence from Southeast Asian Countries," Economic Alternatives, University of National and World Economy, Sofia, Bulgaria, issue 2, pages 235-261, July.
    9. Huang, Fali & Jin, Ginger Zhe & Xu, Lixin Colin, 2017. "Love, money, and parental goods: Does parental matchmaking matter?," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 224-245.
    10. repec:esx:essedp:723 is not listed on IDEAS
    11. Sylvain Dessy & Setou Diarra & Roland Pongou, 2017. "Underage Brides and Grooms’ Education," Working Papers 1704E, University of Ottawa, Department of Economics.
    12. Sushobhan Mahata & Rohan Kanti Khan & Soumyajit Mandal, 2023. "Dowry and Female Education: A Theoretical Evaluation (Article)," The Pakistan Development Review, Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, vol. 62(1), pages 41-59.
    13. Charles Yuji Horioka & Akiko Terada-Hagiwara, 2017. "The impact of sex ratios before marriage on household saving in two Asian countries: The competitive saving motive revisited," Review of Economics of the Household, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 739-757, September.
    14. Shreya Nupur & Meghna Dutta, 2024. "Determinants of Migration from Poor Households in India: An Empirical Investigation," The Indian Journal of Labour Economics, Springer;The Indian Society of Labour Economics (ISLE), vol. 67(3), pages 829-847, September.
    15. Ding, Feng & Du, Limin & Shi, Jinchuan, 2020. "Lucky to have a sister: The effects of unmarried sister on brother outcomes in late imperial China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    16. Pattison-Williams, John K. & Haggar, Jeremy P. & Morton, John F., 2018. "Intergenerational perceptions of household wellbeing in India’s Western and Eastern Ghats," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 10, pages 51-57.
    17. Hugues Champeaux & Elsa Gautrain & Karine Marazyan, 2024. "Men’s premarital migration and marriage payments: Evidence from Indonesia," DeFiPP Working Papers 2402, University of Namur, Development Finance and Public Policies.
    18. Trevon D. Logan & Raj Arunachalam, 2014. "Is There Dowry Inflation in South Asia?," Historical Methods: A Journal of Quantitative and Interdisciplinary History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 47(2), pages 81-94, June.
    19. Zhuqing Duan & Xiaoyi Jin & Jiaxuan Teng, 2022. "Typological Features and Determinants of Men’s Marriage Expenses in Rural China: Evidence from a Village-Level Survey," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-17, July.
    20. Linguère Mously Mbaye & Natascha Wagner, 2017. "Bride Price and Fertility Decisions: Evidence from Rural Senegal," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(6), pages 891-910, June.
    21. Himaz, Rozana & Aturupane, Harsha, 2021. "Why are boys falling behind? Explaining gender gaps in school attainment in Sri Lanka," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:119:y:2014:i:c:p:1-9. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/315/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.