Key Social Norms Take-aways This study confirms that social norms play a powerful role in shaping women’s acceptance of intimate partner violence (IPV) in Punjab, Pakistan. Community-level acceptance of wife-beating is one of the strongest predictors of individual women’s attitudes, indicating a deeply entrenched cultural norm that views IPV as a justified response to perceived female transgressions. When IPV is normalized at the community level, women are over three times more likely to personally accept it. Education, wealth, and media exposure emerge as key disruptors of these norms, emphasizing that norm change must occur both at individual and societal levels to shift acceptance of violence.
Objectives The study aimed to investigate how community-level norms influence women’s attitudes toward the acceptability of IPV in Punjab, Pakistan. It specifically examined whether communal acceptance of wife-beating increases the likelihood of individual women justifying IPV in various scenarios.
Methods The study used data from the 2018 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) in Punjab, comprising a sample of 46,067 women aged 15–49. Logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the impact of community norms on women’s acceptance of IPV in five specific situations (e.g., going out without permission, neglecting children, arguing with the husband, refusing sex, and burning food). Community-level variables were constructed from aggregated individual responses, and additional controls included education, wealth, ethnicity, age difference, media exposure, and childbirth history.
Results Community-level acceptance of IPV was strongly associated with individual women’s justification of wife-beating in all five dimensions. Women living in communities with high normative support for IPV were more than three times as likely to accept such behavior themselves. Education and wealth had a protective effect: women with higher education and from wealthier households were significantly less likely to accept IPV. Media exposure and lower spousal age gaps were also linked to reduced acceptance. Among the five scenarios, “arguing with husband” had the highest rate of acceptance (24%), followed by “neglecting children” and “refusing sex.”
Conclusions Community norms significantly shape individual attitudes toward IPV, reinforcing its acceptability and contributing to its persistence in society. Efforts to reduce IPV must address not only individual-level risk factors but also broader social norms. Investing in women’s education, expanding access to media, and addressing community-level beliefs about gender and violence are essential to transforming attitudes and reducing tolerance for IPV in Pakistan. Norm-shifting interventions should prioritize public awareness campaigns and policies that challenge cultural justifications for violence against women.