Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a major social and public health problem affecting people
from different cultures and societies. Much research has been undertaken to understand the
phenomenon, its determinants, and its consequences in numerous countries. However, there is a
paucity of research on IPV in many areas of the world including Pakistan. The present study aimed
to develop a theory of the meaning and process of IPV from the perspective of Pakistani men and
women living in an outside Pakistan.
The study used a constructivist grounded theory approach. Using the community setting,
data were collected from Karachi, Pakistan and the Pakistani diaspora in Sheffield, UK. Forty-one
participants, including 20 from Pakistan and 21 from the UK participated in the study. Twenty six
interviews were undertaken in Urdu and this required detailed attention to translation.
From the perspectives of the interviewees, marital life in a Pakistani context is about
managing expectations of not only each other as husband and wife, but also of their respective
families. Several family members as well as the couple have expectations, which may be in conflict,
thus making it difficult for a husband and wife to meet all expectations. The husband or wife may
have to prioritize expectations, meeting some expectations and ignoring others. Interviewees
described IPV as escalating from conflict between husband and wife over daily life issues and these
unmet expectations. This led to the development of the theory that when a husband and wife do not
manage each other expectation, it can lead to IPV. This has implications for policy aimed at reducing
the occurrence of IPV in Pakistan or the Pakistani diaspora. Policies need to focus on helping
couples to manage expectations, or recognize that the belief that not managing expectations is the
cause of IPV is at play when developing other prevention strategies.