Identifying the Dimensions of Women’s Empowerment to Coping Effectively with Domestic Violence: A Qualitative Study in Iran

Abstract

Empowerment is a key goal in anti-violence programs against women, which can help women control, prevent, and cope effectively with domestic violence. However, there are no specific guidelines for women's empowerment interventions in this area. This study aimed to explore the dimensions of women's empowerment to cope effectively with domestic violence in a sample of women and related experts. In this qualitative content analysis, data was gathered via 21 individual semi-constructed interviews and two five-person focus group discussions. Thirty-one participants were selected by the purposive sampling approach. Fifteen subcategories were extracted after the data analysis, which included multiple revisions and the merging of 892 primary codes based on similarity, which led to the extraction of 15 subcategories. Then, five main categories were identified as dimensions of women’s empowerment to cope effectively with domestic violence: marital life skills, cognitive self-appraisal, attitude, economic agency, and access to resources. Participants cited marital life skills and attitude as essential dimensions of women's empowerment. These results provide a comprehensive view of the dimensions of women’s empowerment to cope effectively with domestic violence in Iran that can be used as a basis for planning empowerment interventions to promote women’s health against violence.