How Does Divorce Affect Iranian Women's Sexual Well-Being?

Abstract

Sexuality and divorce are two interwoven subjects with complex effects on women's sexual well-being in Iranian culture. Results of this exploratory study using focus group discussions and individual interviews revealed how the sexual well-being of women was influenced by the divorce experience through common patterns and recurring themes. A total of 26 women participated voluntarily in the study. They were approached through a selected social support group in a center in West Tehran in 2011, and all had been divorced for less than 10 years. For the majority, sexuality-related matters became complicated and jeopardized their overall well-being in postdivorce life. This finding, along with the fact that the majority were seeking financial and emotional support, implies that counseling women and providing economic support for postdivorce life might improve women's sexual well-being.

Keywords:

• divorce/separation
• sexual well-being
• somatization
• well-being
• women's sexuality

Acknowledgments

The authors received financial support for the research and authorship of this article from Tehran University of Medical Sciences. Special thanks go to the women who participated in this study and genuinely shared their stories. We sincerely thank personnel from the safe community in District 21, Tehran, for their great support. We thank our research assistants, Masoud Motalebi, Mahshid Sarafzade, and Hadi Tehrani, for their invaluable assistance.