Violence against women is a significant global public health issue that affects women throughout their lives and increases the risk of various adverse health outcomes. This research examines the experiences of 20 married women living in the informal settlement of Al-Timor, Mashhad. It explores various types of domestic violence, the context and consequences of spousal violence, and the victims' reactions and coping mechanisms. Four general types of violence were identified: physical, emotional and psychological, sexual, and economic violence.
Regarding the factors contributing to violence at home, the women studied cited gender norms, emotional breakdowns, addiction, mental health issues, and economic pressures. According to the interviewees, the consequences of violence include ongoing conflict and tension between spouses and the negative impact of the husband's behavior on children, including emotional and psychological harm.Regarding how women cope with violence, the findings indicate that those affected often adopt passive responses such as endurance, relying on religious beliefs and trust, and concealing or ignoring the violence. Active responses, such as seeking reciprocity, engaging in dialogue with their spouse, and attempting to address the situation, are rare.
‌‌
Domestic Violence, Women, Informal Settlement, Mashhad, El-Timur  
‌
‌Introduction
Domestic violence against women occurs in all settings, but it is generally more prevalent in informal settlements than in the main urban areas of cities. Women living in informal settlements on the outskirts of cities face challenges such as poverty, insecurity, unemployment, weak social and legal support, and limited social capital. Additionally, the prevailing gender norms in these neighborhoods often increase their vulnerability to violence.
Marginalized women who migrate to major cities in search of better living conditions are particularly at risk due to their significant role in supporting their families. Therefore, women in informal settlements constitute one of the most vulnerable groups, and studying their circumstances has been emphasized in sustainable development literature. In Iran, despite the lack of comprehensive data, information published in the past decade indicates a significant prevalence of domestic violence against women.
 
Methodology
The purpose of this research is to understand women's common experiences of domestic violence. Therefore, the phenomenological method, which focuses on people's lived experiences and their perception and interpretation of the world, was utilized. Preliminary exploratory interviews were conducted to prepare a semi-structured interview format. The research sample was selected using a targeted sampling method, and in-depth interviews were conducted with 20 married women living in the Al-Timur region who had experienced domestic violence. Each interview lasted 50 to 60 minutes in an informal setting, fostering a face-to-face relationship with the participants.
After each interview, the recorded data were transcribed, and the stages of coding, classification, and data analysis were performed using MAXQDA software and the analysis method introduced by Moustakas. The process consisted of six steps:

Introduction (statement of problems and questions)
Research process and procedure (phenomenological assumptions, data collection, analysis, results)
Extracting meaningful and important propositions
Interpreting the meanings of the propositions
Identifying themes from the propositions
Providing a full description of the phenomenon.

‌
Findings
After analyzing the interviews, categories and sub-categories were obtained, the result of which was four common types of violence perpetrated at home (physical, emotional and psychological, sexual, and economic) by husbands. The interviewees pointed to areas such as the inability to rethink gender, emotional breakdown, addiction, neurological diseases, and economic pressure as the conditions for the occurrence of violence in the home. Violence against women can be referred to constant arguments and tension between spouses and the impact of the father's behavior on the children in terms of imitating the father's example and emotional and psychological harm to the children at home. The findings of the research showed that in the context of women's ways of dealing with violence, the use of structural strategies by women is very limited and mostly cognitive, behavioral, and single-factor, and in a few cases, it relies on interaction and involving the spouse.
 
Result
According to the findings, women victims of violence have low education levels. Therefore, improving their knowledge and awareness can reduce their vulnerability to such behaviors to some extent. Another cause of violence against women is poverty and the poor economic status of the family. According to resource theory, a husband who has access to fewer resources uses violence to assert his superiority. These individuals release their frustration in accessing sources of power by resorting to violence against their spouses.
Men who misbehave with their wives live in a culture where men dominate the family. One characteristic of this culture is the approval of men's aggression, male dominance, and women's obedience. In societies and families where patriarchal thinking exists, the use of power is often employed to affirm men's privileges. The results indicate that another cause of domestic violence is the powerlessness of women in the family structure. In most of the interviews, the pattern of authoritarian and patriarchal relationships was evident. Women did not have a role in making decisions or effecting changes in the family, or their role was very insignificant. Therefore, one cause of violence can be considered the existence of anti-feminist patterns, as it is believed that violence against women is a confirmation of a specific type of social order and a result of social and cultural beliefs that make women less important and less valuable than men, deeming them unworthy of respect.
References
Abbott, P. & Wallace, C. (2012). Sociology of women. Translated by Manijeh Najm Iraqi.Tehran: Nay Publishing. (In Persian(
Aarabi, S. M. & Boudlaie, H. (2011). Phenomenological research strategy. Methodology of Social Sociences and Humanities, 17(68), 31-58. (In Persian)
Adekey, O., Abimbola, O. & Adeusi, S. (2011). Domestic violence in a semi-urban neighbourhood. Gender and Behaviour, 9(2), 4247-4261.
Aliverdinia, A., Riahi, M. E. & Farhadi. M. (2011). Social analysis of husbands’ violence against wives: A theoretical model and empirical test. Journal of Social Problems of Iran, 2(2), 95-127. (In Persian)
Azazi, S. (2004). Society structure and violence against women. Social Welfare Quarterly, 4(14), 59-96. (In Persian)
Blanca, M. R., Bonnie, E. C. & Louise, A. M. (2004). Lifetime abuse, mental health,and African American women. Journal of Family Violence ,19(3), 153–164.
Bagrezaei, P., Zanjani, H. & Seifollahi, S. (2017). A Meta-Analysis of the studies on the violence of husbands against wives in Iran. The Women and Families Cultural- Education ,11(38),71-97.(In Persian)
Bandura, A. (1993). Social Learning Theory. Translated by Farhad Maher. Shiraz: Rahgosha Publishing. (In Persian)
BaniFatemeh, H., Abbaszadeh, M., Alizadeh Aghdam, B. & Mohammadpour, N. (2019). Stress and violence against women: A qualitative research. Woman in Development &Politics, 16(4), 581-602. (In Persian)
Bourey, C., Williams, W., Bernstein, E. E. & Stephenson, R .(2015). Systematic review of structural interventions for intimate partner violence in low- and middle-income countries: Organizing evidence for prevention. BMC Public Health, 15, 1-18.
Bungon, S. (2004) .Understanding wife abuse in urban Thailand. Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Mississippi State University, Mississippi.
Chant ,S. (2013). Cities through a “gender lens”: a golden “urban age” for women in the global South?. Environment and Urbanization, 25(1), 9-29.
Chowdhury, M. A. K., Rahman, A. E., Morium, S., Hasan, M. M., Bhuiyan, A. & Arifeen, S. E. (2021). Domestic violence against women in urban slums of Bangladesh: A cross-sectional survey. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 36(9-10), 4728-4742.
Fakouhi, N.(2003).Urban Anthropology.Tehran:Nay Publishing. (In Persian(
Ghazvineh, Z., Saroukhani, B. & Shekarbigi. A. (2018). Spatial distribution of domestic violence in Kermanshah city. Geography and Environmental Sustainability, 8(3), 79-98. (In Persian)
Gibbs, A., Dunkle, K. & Jewkes, R. (2018). Emotional and economic intimate partner violence as key drivers of depression and suicidal ideation: A cross-sectional study among young women in informal settlements in South Africa. PLoS ONE, 13(4(, 1-18.
Kakulu, I., Byrne, P. & Viitanen, K. (2009). Phenomenological research in compulsory land acquisition and compensation, Proceedings of the FIG (Federation  De Geometres).Working Week 2009-Surveyors Key Role in Accelerated Development, 3-8 May. Eilat. Israel.
Kanougiya, S., Daruwalla, N., Gram, L., Sivakami, M. & Osrin, D. (2021). Domestic coercive control and common mental disorders among women in informal settlements in Mumbai, India: A cross-sectional survey. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, doi: 10.1177/08862605211030293.
Khayat, S., Dolatian, M., Fanaei, H., Navidian, A., Mahmoodi, Z. & Kasaeian, A. (2020). Women’s reproductive health status in urban slums in southeast Iran in 2017: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Midwifery Reproductive Health, 8(1), 2069-2082.
Koenig, M. A., Stephenson, R., Ahmed, S., Jejeebhoy, S. J. & Campbell, J. (2006). Individual and contextual determinants of domestic violence in North India. Am J Public Health, 96(1), 132-138.
Lambert, J. E., Michael, B .(2020). Gender based violence in two informal settlements in Nakuru County, Kenya. DIGNITY Publication Series on Torture and Organised Violence No. 33.
Manen, M. V. (2007). Phenomenology of practice. Phenomenology & Practice, 1(1), 11-30.
Markward, M. J. (1997). The impact of domestic violence on children. Families in Society, 78(1), 66–70.
McIlwaine, C. (2013). Urbanization and gender-based violence:exploring the paradoxes in the global South. Environment and Urbanization, 25(1), 65–79.
Mohammad Pour, A. (2010). Qualitative Research Method, Anti-Method1 (Logic and Design in Qualitative Methodology). Tehran: Sociologists Publishing. (In Persian)
Mohseni Tabrizi, A. (2000). The theoretical and empirical consideration vandalism: A glance at the findings of a research. Journal of Social Sciences Letter, 16(16), 193-227. (In Persian)
Moser, C. O. N. & McIlwaine, C. (2014). New frontiers in twenty-first century urban conflict and violence. Environment and Urbanization, 26(2), 331-344.
Mosha, I., Ezekiel, M., Onesmo, W. & Sabasaba, A. (2019). Prevalence and predictors of intimate partner violence among women living in informal settlements in Iringa Tanzania: A cross sectional study. Tanzania Journal of Development Studies, 17(1), 1-18.
Mother's conference focusing on "violence against women in marginal areas". (2017). Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Tehran. ISNA: https://b2n.ir/m45387. (In Persian)
Nadda, A., Malik. J. S., Rohilla, R., Chahal, S., Chayal, V. & Arora,V. (2018). Study of domestic violence among currently married females of Haryana, India. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine, 40(6), 534-539.
Office of Facilitation and Local Development of Timur. (2019(. Report on assessing the situation of Timur neighborhood. Mashhad. Khorasan Razavi Governorate. (In Persian)
Qarache, M., Ranjabr, F., Allahogholi, L., Hasanloui, B., Mirghforvand, M., Vedadhir, A. & Jahanfar, S. (2021). Investigation of domestic violence and related factors during the Covid pandemic 19 in women referring to health centers in Iran. Publication in the database of health research results of the country. https://b2n.ir/d60483. (In Persian)
Racher, F. & Robinson, S. (2003). Are phenomenology and postpositivism strange bedfellows?. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 25(5), 464-481.
Sabri, B. & Campbell, J. C. ( 2015). Intimate partner violence against women in slums in India. Indian J Med Res, 141(6), 757-759.
Sadeghi, S. (2010). A qualitative study of domestic violence and women’s coping strategies in Iran. Iranian Journal Of  Social Problems, 1(1), 107-142. (In Persian)
Saeidi, I., Memar, S. & Kianpour, M. (2020). Women's lived experience of domestic violence (Case Study: Women referred to divorce reduction unit of Isfahan Social Emergency Center). Journal Of Social Problems Of Iran, 11(1), 123-142. (In Persian)
Sambisa, W., Angeles, G., Lance. P. M., Naved, R. T. & Thornton, J. (2011). Prevalence and correlates of physical spousal violence against women in slum and non-slum areas of urban Bangladesh. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 26(13), 2592-2618.
Swart, E. (2012). Gender-based violence in a Kenyan Slum:Creating local, woman-centered Interventions. Journal of Social Service Research, 38(4), 427-438.
Vameghi, M., Khodai Ardekani, M. & Sajadi, H. (2013). Domestic violence in Iran: Review of 2001-2008 literature. Social Welfare Quarterly, 13(50), 37-70. (In Persian)
Wright, E. O. (1997). Class Counts: Comparative Studies in Class Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Winter, S., Obara, L. M. & McMahon, S. (2020). Intimate partner violence: A key correlate of women’s physical and mental health in informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. PLoS One, 15(4(, 1-18.
World Health Organization (WHO), https://www.who.int/home.
Yekekar, S., Aghabakhshi, H. & Hosseini Haji Bakande, A. (2019). Social themes of  domestic violence against  women. Socialworkmag, 8(3), 49-59. (In Persian)
Zavala, E. (2007(. Nonphysical intimate partner violence:emotional abuse and controlling behavior against women. M.A. Dissertation, Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work,college of Art and Sciences. The University of Texas at E paso.
Zamani-Moghadam, M. & Hasanvandi, S. (2019). A Qualitative study of domestic violence against housewives in Khorramabad. Quarterly Journal of Woman & Society, 10(39), 145-170. (In Persian)
‌‌‌‌