Criminalising domestic violence, or providing legal protection against it, was rare until recent decades. Today most of the world's population lives in countries that do one or the other, but for much of history violence within the home was treated as a private family matter. Laws change slowly because they depend on courts, police and social attitudes changing together. The World Bank tracks these protections in its Women, Business and the Law project, which records legal rules across countries.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.