Are Immigrant Women Visible in Australian Domestic Violence Reports that Potentially Influence Policy?

Abstract

Through an intersectional lens, this article explores whether immigrant women are represented in a sample of Australian government documents aimed at providing information about family violence in Australia, and discusses implications for policy development. The authors find that while these documents pay lip service to the special vulnerabilities of immigrant and refugee women; arguably, they do not engage with the complexities of the intersection of gender and other social categories. Given that the reports do not focus adequately on how race, ethnicity, culture and immigration status play a role in these women's experiences of domestic violence, this may limit the effect of policies that address the culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) victims' needs and rights to protection. We argue that a more intersectional approach is necessary to address CALD women's specific needs.

‘Some Animals Are More Equal Than Others’: The Hierarchy of Citizenship in Austria

“…By implication, Austrian citizens from immigrant-background require visas to visit their country of origin or that of their parents. Similar to Anglophone Western nations (Burt et al 2012;Ghafournia and Easteal 2018;Graber 2019;Hipp and Kubrin 2017;Pepper 2017;Polanco 2015), and non-Anglophone Western nations such as Italy (Colombo et al 2009;Policek et al 2019), Germany (Kranz 2017;Moffitt et al 2018), 'immigrant-citizens' have inherited the negativisation bestowed historically upon those who are culturally 'Other' in Austria (Zaslove 2004;Refaie 2001;Horvath 2014;Cochrane and Nevitte 2014). As a consequence, there is widespread vilification of immigrants in the media and in political discourse that is well documented (Hipfl and Gronold 2011;Messinger 2013;Rheindorf and Ruth 2019).…”

“…This strategy resonates with the view that multiple manifestations of (dis)advantages in many parts of the world have connections with racial forces (Alexander 2012;Gilroy 1987;Forsyth et al 2013;Hazard 2011;Hipp and Kubrin 2017;Pepper 2017;Tynes et al 2016). As many social scientists have noted, 'race' is a social construct, and much of 'reality' is socially constructed (e.g., Burt et al 2012;Fogiel-Bijaoui 2016;Ghafournia and Easteal 2018;Graber 2019;Hazard 2011;Hipp and Kubrin 2017;Tynes et al 2016;UNESCO 1969). While there is a general consensus that racial groups do not exist (e.g., Banton 1998), it is, however, indisputable that 'race' has enduring real-life consequences (Agozino 2018;Burt et al 2012;Graber 2019;Pepper 2017;Tynes et al 2016).…”

Intersectionality and Invisible Victims: Reflections on Data Challenges and Vicarious Trauma in Femicide, Family and Intimate Partner Homicide Research

“…The role of structural drivers, including system barriers, is similarly experienced by other racialized women and girls globally who face increased marginalization and vulnerability (Ghafournia and Easteal 2018). This is further reinforced by their invisibility in all forms of official data, as it is "not even possible to accurately document their numbers let alone collect data on other social identities."…”

Exploring the Significance of Some Cultural and Religious Factors in Domestic Violence among Muslim Immigrant Australians

“…21 Australian research indicates that the DV risk for culturally and linguistically diverse (CaLD) women is higher than for mainstream women. 22 In brief, the purpose of the present investigation is:…”