• A Critical Review of the Role of Taboo and Social Stigma in the Perpetuation of Violence against Women
  • Azam Zare Arashlouei,1,* Leila Asadi,2
    1. PhD Student Research Committee‚ Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery‚ Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences‚ Yazd‚ Iran
    2. PhD of Reproductive Health,Comprehensive Research Institute for Maternal and Child Health, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran


  • Introduction: Violence against women remains one of the most persistent and universal forms of human rights violations. Despite extensive efforts in legislation and awareness-raising, it continues to prevail across many societies. This review study aims to examine the role of taboo and social stigma in perpetuating violence against women
  • Methods: This study is a critical review conducted in 2025. A systematic search was performed in Persian databases, including SID, Iranmedex, Irandoc, and Magiran, as well as international databases, including PubMed, Google Scholar, Eric, and ScienceDirect. The search was carried out using the keywords “violence against women,” “intimate partner violence,” “taboo,” “cultural barriers,” and “social stigma” combined with Boolean operators (AND, OR). Inclusion criteria consisted of publication date range, language, availability of full-text articles, and relevance to the study objectives. Studies published without time limitation up to the end of July 2025 were considered. A total of 25 titles were initially identified, of which 15 articles were fully reviewed and critically appraised using the CONSORT checklist
  • Results: The findings of this critical review, interpreted through Goode’s Resource Theory (1970s), were categorized into five major themes. (1) Economic dependency and power control: Women with limited economic resources, such as lack of independent income or education, were found to be more vulnerable to violence due to their inability to leave abusive relationships. In some cases, men with lower economic or social status resorted to violence as a substitute source of power to maintain control. (2) Social and personal resources as justification for violence: Educational attainment, social position, and cultural capital played crucial roles in power distribution. Deficiency in these resources often legitimized violence as a last resort for asserting dominance. (3) Interaction of resource inequality with gender norms: Cultural perceptions of men as providers and women as traditional homemakers reinforced unequal power relations. (4) Dependency, compensation, and suppression processes: In cases where women possessed greater resources than their partners, men frequently resorted to punitive behavior, a phenomenon described as “counter-normativity.” Violence thus emerged as a reaction to perceived threats against traditional male roles or diminished economic authority. (5) Social stigma mediated by resource dependency: Women with independent resources were sometimes subjected to stigmatizing labels, such as being “disobedient” or “arrogant,” which limited their access to social support and reinforced their vulnerability
  • Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the persistence of violence against women can be analyzed not only as a cultural phenomenon but also as a structural and economic issue. Addressing this challenge effectively requires comprehensive and multi-level approaches, including institutional and structural reforms, public awareness-raising, women’s empowerment, and active resistance against patriarchal beliefs and unjust legal frameworks.
  • Keywords: Violence against women; Intimate partner violence; Taboo; Cultural barriers; Social stigma