Objectives: The objectives of the study was to describe how people who face partner violence against women, either as volunteers or as professionals in their everyday work, explain violence against women in intimate relationships and their suggestions for preventive activities.

Methods: Twenty men and twenty women were strategically selected for five focus-group discussions. The interviews were analysed following the procedure for qualitative thematic content analysis.

Findings: The study shows that the participants acknowledged violence against women as a multifaceted phenomenon grounded in the interplay betweenindividual, family-related factors and local community and socio-cultural factors. Men’s level of education, ‘social evils’, women challenging gender role expectations and women’s extensive work load were discussed as factors at individual and family level. Poverty in the local community and ‘feudal ideologies’ were referred to as explanatory factors at structural level. The informants suggested two main ways of preventing violence against women; improved gender equality through information, education and communication, and enforcing policies and law. Examples pertaining to different levels of society were given.

Conclusions: This study shows that behind all of the explanations to intimate partner violence laid the culturally constructed messages about the proper roles of men and women mirroring gender inequality and women’s power disadvantage. A hesitation to intervene was found among some of the informants, the medical doctors, while all the others were eager to discuss activities but mainly those they were already undertaking and it seems the local level require further support to better handle this problem.