This paper aims to describe the prevalent forms of intimate partner violence, and the factors associated with intimate partner violence among women and men living in the migrant communities of Baglung district, Nepal. Data was drawn from 357 adult women and men from six wards in two sub-districts of Baglung district. We followed a family model, interviewing young married women, their husbands, and mothers-in-law and fathers-in-laws using an electronic interviewer-administered questionnaire. We conducted descriptive analyses and random effects regression modelling comparing men and women, and young married women with daughter-in-law status and older women with mothers-in-law with status. The results indicated that 28.6% of women had ever experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner compared to 18.2% of men having ever perpetrated these against intimate partners in their lifetime. Regression analyses found that being older, male controlling behaviour and poor relations with husband increased the odds of women experiencing IPV in their lifetime while perceptions that the mother-in-law is kind were protective. Borrowing money or food increased young women's lifetime IPV risk while mother-in-law cruelty and male control increased older women's exposure. Being ashamed of being unemployed and childhood trauma were associated with men perpetrating IPV in their lifetime. Factors associated with IPV in the past year were being younger, job seeking, experiences of childhood trauma and depression exposure among men and difficulty accessing money for emergencies, holding inequitable gender attitudes, and depression among women. Unemployment stress, holding inequitable gender attitudes and mother-in-law kindness were associated with young women's exposure and hunger, mother-in-law cruelty and depression with older women's exposure. The results demonstrated the need to critically challenge harmful social and gender norms by using approaches that are sensitive to unequal gender relations at the family level. IPV prevention interventions need to employ a holistic approach that combines changing social and gender norms and improving socioeconomic conditions of women living in migrant communities.
