Experience of violence amongst female medical and nursing students and their perception regarding violence against women in Delhi, India.

Background Health care providers are often the first point of contact for the victims of violence against women (VAW). Therefore, it is important to understand their perception about VAW. Objective To assess the proportion of female medical students who experienced violence, and elicit their perception regarding the same. Methods It was a cross-sectional study undertaken among 50 medical and 50 nursing students of a medical college in Central Delhi. A self-administered, questionnaire was used for data collection. Results Of the total, 18% had experienced molestation while 77% had experienced eve-teasing during their lifetime. But, only 2% reported the incident to police. Perception regarding the victim's role and self-determination was favorable amongst the female students. However, only 39% knew some basic self-defense techniques. Conclusion The proportion of students who experienced eve-teasing in their lifetime was high. The study highlighted the need to make the female students more pro-active and competent in terms of tackling violence.