Tradition, stigma and domestic violence in Shkodra, Albania: a qualitative study of women survivors’ lived experiences

Purpose Domestic violence remains a pervasive public health and human rights concern in Albania, where gendered power relations, economic dependence and community norms shape both the experience of abuse and pathways to safety. This study aims to explore how tradition and social stigma influence women survivors’ lived experiences of domestic violence in Shkodra, Northern Albania. Design/methodology/approach This qualitative study recruited ten adult women survivors through community and support services. Participants completed in-depth, semi-structured interviews in Albanian. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis within an interpretivist, feminist-phenomenological framework to capture meaning-making, embodied distress and socio-cultural constraint. Findings Five themes were generated: a moral economy of “family honour” that normalised control and endurance; stigma, victim-blaming and strategic silence; embodied fear and trauma-related distress; turning points and the gradual construction of agency; and an ambivalent institutional role, where protection mechanisms coexisted with delays, distrust and re-stigmatisation. Stigma functioned not only as a social reaction after disclosure but as an internalised constraint that delayed help-seeking and intensified psychological suffering. Research limitations/implications The sample was small, service-linked and drawn from one northern city, limiting transferability to other regions and to survivors not connected to services. Future research should expand regional coverage, include non-service-engaged survivors and examine the effects of stigma-focused and economic-support interventions on disclosure, safety and wellbeing. Practical implications Findings underscore the need for culturally responsive, trauma-informed services that explicitly address honour-based pressure, stigma, safety planning and economic dependence. Strengthening inter-agency coordination and reducing victim-blaming in frontline responses may support earlier disclosure and more consistent protection. Originality/value This study provides rare qualitative evidence from Shkodra and clarifies how tradition and stigma operate as both social regulation and internal psychological constraint, shaping silence, agency and women’s encounters with protective institutions.