Barriers to Empowering Assertive Behavior in Dealing with Spousal Violence in Iranian Married Women: A Qualitative Approach

Spousal violence is a severe public health problem that affects women's health worldwide. While the evidence suggests that women's assertiveness is a significant factor in coping with this type of violence, empowerment interventions in this area, especially in developing countries, have been ineffective. This qualitative study aimed to identify barriers to empowering women's assertive behavior in dealing with spousal violence. We used a combined purposive and theoretical sampling method with maximum variation to select interviewees. The data were collected through 31 semi-constructed interviews and were analyzed using a content analysis approach developed by Graneheim and Lundman. After data analysis, 87 codes were extracted. Multiple revisions and merging of similar codes were finally organized into 13 sub-categories and five thematic categories of barriers to empowering assertive behavior. Three categories of individual and interpersonal barriers including internalized fears damaged marital interactions, and internalized disability were identified, as well as two categories of sociocultural barriers including culture, customs and sociability, and lack of access to supportive resources. Our study revealed that empowering assertive behavior in women faced multidimensional barriers that exacerbate women's related challenges in dealing with violence. Interventions should focus on removing individual, interpersonal, and social barriers, especially by enhancing women's ability to overcome their inner fears, developing interpersonal communication skills, and correcting discriminatory cultural beliefs and gender stereotypes about women.