Feminist Group Counseling with South Asian Women Who Have Survived Intimate Partner Violence∗

Helping South Asian Immigrant Women Use Resilience Strategies in Healing from Sexual Abuse: A Call for a Culturally Relevant Model

“…Scholars have recognized that cultural norms play a major role in defining sexual violence (Heras, 1992;Kalof, 2000;Korbin, 1987;Marsella, Johnson, Watson, & Grycznski, 2008). It therefore becomes important to examine South Asian cultural norms-typically including patriarchal values, strict gender role socialization, and emphasis on an extended family unit (Abraham, 2006;Das & Kemp, 2007;Singh & Hays, 2008)-and their connection to women's experience of sexual abuse. Abraham (2000) highlighted that South Asian notions of family are distinct in that ''the family and group-oriented structure views the individual as a representative of the family .…”

You’re Not Alone: Mental Health Outcomes in Therapy Groups for Abused Women

“…Group formats have been adopted by community agencies serving women who wanted to learn about abuse, who were considering leaving an abusive partner or who had left but still felt the need for support. Feminist principles are commonly applied in groups for abused women (Rinfret-Raynor and Cantin 1997;Singh and Hays 2008).…”

The Roots of Social Justice in Group Work

“…Shortly thereafter, more articles appearing in The Journal for Specialists in Group Work began to explore specific consequences of social justice issuesranging from abuse to an explicit examination of privilege and oppression in group work. Singh and Hays (2008) outlined how group workers could use feminist principles of empowerment and advocacy with South Asian survivors of intimate partner violence. Smith and Shin (2008) detailed how White, male, and heterosexual privilege influence group dynamics and processes, discussed how covert oppression may manifest in groups, and created implications to further address the construct of social privilege in group work.…”