1. Introduction Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a public health problem. Its prevalence is greater than that of other serious health problems (e.g. breast cancer) that have received wide coverage and financing because of wide-spread awareness (Logan et al. 2006). For example, in most Western nations one in four women are at risk for IPV. In Mexico, it is estimated that the preponderance of IPV in women is psychological (37.7%), physical (23.4%), and sexual (9.5%) (Ortega-Ceballos et al. 2007) and that at least 40% of pregnant women suffer IPV (Sanchez-Jimenez, et al. 2008). One of the great struggles of the past four decades has been publicizing the high prevalence and the impact of the IPV. In addition, recognizing and encouraging formal and informal complaints of IPV pose significant challenges. IPV concealment reduces the public awareness of its actual occurrence, resulting in less attention by public policy. It is also known that reports to the court system usually result in two phenomena: (1) a decrease in violence between the couple (Willson et al. 2001) and (2) people subjected to aggression feel safer and better about themselves (Malecha et al. 2003, Logan et al. 2006). So, understanding the obstacles that limit complaints, whether formal or informal, can have an impact for both an individual and the society. Seeking help or registering complaints has been studied mainly regarding women. However, there is a lack of empirical studies to improve the understanding of the reasons why women tend to hide their IPV (Leone et al. 2007). Moreover, there is a lack of a broad understanding of the phenomenon that includes men and women of different sexual orientation. Our study specifically addresses this problem. Our objective is to better understand the IPV concealment by women and men in heterosexual, gay, lesbian, and bisexual populations (HGLB) in Queretaro, Mexico. In this paper, we address the question: How do people explain their practice of IPV concealment? 1.1. Research context Queretaro is a state located in the central highlands of the Mexican Republic, two hundred miles northwest of Mexico City. It is distinguished by its small size (11, 269 [km.sup.2]), and rapid industrial modernization that began in the 1960s. As a consequence Queretaro is a state that is located in the central highlands of the Mexican Republic, two hundred miles northwest of Mexico City. It is distinguished by the disruption of the economic structure of Queretaro, resulting in industrial development with the concomitant decline in agriculture. This phenomenon has led to a significant population growth, through both natural increase and immigration. Currently, the population is 1,827,937 inhabitants (Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Geografia 2013), of which 51.46% are female and 48.53% are male. In addition, young people predominate: 29.81% are between 0 and 14 years of age and 27.84% are 15 to 29 years of age. In contrast, 21.76% are between 30 and 44 years of age, and 19.85% are between 45 and 65 years of age. Another important consequence of industrialization in Queretaro is the diversification of its labor market, in which wages from labor increased as did the presence of women in the work force (Palacios-Sierra 2007). Working women in 2007 were 41.4% of the work force compared to 38.2% in 2000 (Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Geografia 2008:17). These factors, among others, influenced the greater heterogeneity of households today, as reflected in these statistics: 72.9% are nuclear households (as defined by United Nations n.d.), 18.8% are extended households, 6.5% are one-person households, 0.6% are co-resident households, and 0.5% are composite households. Also, households headed by women have increased from 19.8% in 2000 to 22% in 2005 (Instituto Nacional de Estadistica y Geografia 2008:3). Despite these changes, which have probably contributed to making Queretaro one of the five safest states in the country (Calzada-Rovirosa 2012) in terms of relationships between men and women, significant inequalities remain. …