Key Social Norms Take-aways This study underscores the significant role of gender norms in influencing women’s risk of experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) in Nepal. While individual attitudes toward gender equity were not significantly associated with IPV, more gender-equitable community norms were linked with reduced IPV risk. The case study further highlighted how deeply embedded norms—such as tolerance for physical discipline within marriage—normalize violence despite individuals’ seemingly equitable beliefs. The findings emphasize the need for interventions to address social norms at both household and community levels to prevent IPV effectively.
Objectives The study aimed to examine the prevalence of IPV and to identify individual, relational, familial, and community-level risk and protective factors associated with IPV among married women in Nepal, with a specific focus on the role of social norms.
Methods This mixed-methods research drew on baseline data from the “Change Starts at Home” social behavior change communication trial in three Nepali districts. Quantitative data came from structured surveys with 1,800 women, and multivariate logistic regression was used to identify risk and protective factors for past-year physical and/or sexual IPV. Additionally, in-depth interviews with 18 couples were conducted and analyzed through case- and code-based qualitative methods to contextualize survey findings.
Results About 25% of women reported physical and/or sexual IPV in the past 12 months. Key risk factors for IPV included low caste, employment (especially if women earned the same or less than their husbands), income stress, poor marital communication, quarrelling, frequent alcohol use by husbands, exposure to IPV in childhood, and violence from in-laws. Importantly, women’s perceptions of more gender-equitable community norms were associated with lower IPV risk, while individual attitudes were not. A detailed case study illustrated how a woman’s childhood exposure to IPV and her husband’s alcohol use and attitudes shaped her current IPV experience, despite his gender-equitable views on some issues.
Conclusions The study highlights the intergenerational transmission of violence and the complex dynamics within families that sustain IPV. Efforts to reduce IPV in Nepal must go beyond changing individual attitudes and address broader community norms and structural inequalities, particularly those related to caste and gendered economic roles.