“He Said They’d Deport Me”

Abstract

Significant developments have been made in research on domestic violence experienced by women as well as on the practical front of the services women seek and receive when living with partner abuse. Yet, most of the studies that explore the experiences of victims of partner abuse in the United States have focused on nonimmigrant White women. The current study aims to contribute to the literature by exploring Latina immigrant victims' experiences with domestic violence service outreach in the Midwest. This exploratory study used one-on-one interviews and a focus group to identify the challenges faced by 10 Latina victims of partner abuse who had previously contacted an antiviolence organization in Iowa and had used its services. Findings demonstrate that immigration status and the inability to understand domestic violence within given cultural norms are major barriers keeping Latina victims from seeking help from formal advocacy agencies. Other impediments include feeling shame, isolation, along with the lack of bilingual service providers in mainstream institutions and, the lack of knowledge about resources among newcomers. We end with recommendations for research and practice.

Intimate partner violence and abuse against Nigerian women resident in England, UK: a cross- sectional qualitative study

“…Theoretically and conceptually, familism refers to upholding the goals of the family as premier rather than the individual family members’ needs, and expectation that the family unit will support its members [ 56 , 80 , 83 – 85 ]. While familism has been criticised for its dominance and controlling tendencies towards its family members [ 83 , 84 ], it has been positively linked to improved mental health, strong social support networks, and acculturation within immigrant communities in the United States [ 78 – 80 , 82 ].…”

“…Although there is plethora of evidence on the use of immigration status and threat of deportation by the male abusive partner [ 4 , 19 , 43 , 85 , 120 ], particularly where only the woman is subject to immigration control, little is known about how immigration status affect disclosure and help-seeking practices where both the abusive male partner and the woman are subject to immigration control. Thus, the role of immigration status in the context of IPV involving women from ethnic minority populations, where both the abusive male partner and the female victim were subject to immigration control was identified as an original contribution of this study.…”

“We are not weak, we just experience domestic violence”—Immigrant women's experiences of encounters with service providers as a result of domestic violence

“…One of the women in this study posed viewpoints similar to Sokoloff and Dupont (2005), who warned against a simplistic understanding of culture in this context. The focus must not be on culture per se (Reina et al, 2014;Sokoloff & Dupont, 2005). It is vital to consider that the experience of domestic violence is mediated through poverty, unemployment, and economic marginalization (Burman, Smailes, & Chantler, 2004;Sokoloff & Dupont, 2005).…”

“…It is vital to consider that the experience of domestic violence is mediated through poverty, unemployment, and economic marginalization (Burman, Smailes, & Chantler, 2004;Sokoloff & Dupont, 2005). Several studies highlight such structural challenges as placing particular constraints on women with immigrant backgrounds who experience violence while trying to obtain a safe and dignified existence in the society in which they live (Menjívar & Salcido, 2002;Reina et al, 2014). An excessive focus on cultural explanations can thus act as a barrier to effective service delivery and decrease women's willingness to utilize service providers (Burman et al, 2004).…”

Experiences with Dating Violence and Help Seeking Among Hispanic Females in Their Late Adolescence

“…It has been suggested that immigrant status and knowledge of formal services for DV are more salient predictors of help-seeking than actual cultural values (Sabina & Ho, 2014). For example, in a study with Hispanic immigrant women in the Midwest, authors noted that individuals who had experienced violent relationships were not initially likely to seek help from formal services due to structural barriers (e.g., limited misunderstanding of services available, differences in cultural norms surrounding violence in United States, and language barriers), along with individual feelings of shame and isolation (Reina, Lohman, & Maldonado, 2014). …”