Key Social Norms Take-aways This study demonstrates that social norms at the community level strongly shape individual attitudes toward intimate partner violence (IPV). When wife-beating is perceived as a common and accepted norm within a community, women are significantly more likely to justify IPV themselves, highlighting the powerful role of collective expectations in sustaining harmful gender practices. The findings underscore that shifting community-level norms—rather than only individual attitudes—is critical for reducing IPV acceptability.

Objectives The study aims to examine how community-level social norms influence women’s acceptance of IPV in Punjab, Pakistan, and to assess the relative importance of these norms compared to individual socioeconomic and demographic factors.

Methods The study uses a quantitative cross-sectional design drawing on data from the 2018 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) in Punjab, Pakistan, with a large sample of 46,067 women aged 15–49. Logistic regression models are applied to assess the relationship between community norms and women’s attitudes toward wife-beating across five scenarios (e.g., arguing with husband, neglecting children). Social norms are operationalized through aggregated community-level indicators, including the mean wife-beating acceptance score within primary sampling units, as well as contextual measures of community disadvantage (e.g., female illiteracy rates, poverty levels).

Results The findings show that wife-beating is widely embedded as a community norm in Punjab. Women living in communities with higher acceptance of IPV are more than three times as likely to justify wife-beating across all measured scenarios. Education emerges as a key protective factor, with higher levels of female education significantly associated with rejection of IPV norms. Other important correlates include household wealth, ethnicity, media exposure, and spousal age differences. While a majority of women reject IPV in all scenarios, a substantial proportion still consider it justified under specific conditions, particularly when wives challenge traditional gender roles (e.g., arguing with husbands).

Conclusions The study concludes that community-level social norms play a decisive role in shaping women’s acceptance of IPV, often outweighing individual characteristics. Efforts to reduce IPV must therefore go beyond individual-level interventions and address broader cultural and normative environments. Increasing women’s education is identified as a critical pathway for shifting attitudes and reducing acceptance of IPV, but broader norm change strategies are essential to achieve sustained change.