Within These Walls| Intimate Partner Violence in the South Asian Population//Heer Panchal, M.S., M.A.

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The US Census data shows that close to 2.7 million South Asians currently live in the United States, and of this population, 41% are women. One study of 208 South Asian women in the Greater Boston area, 21% percent reported that they had experienced physical and/or sexual abuse at the hands of an intimate partner (Hurwitz, Gupta, Liu, Silverman & Raj, 2006). Another study by Raj & Silverman (2003) shows that 40% of South Asian women report intimate partner violence in their current relationship. These statistics paint a chilling picture of gender-based violence against women and the prevalence of intimate partner violence (IPV) in the South Asian population.

Intimate partner violence begins at an individual level and permeates to the household and community levels. On the individual levels, factors such as witnessing domestic violence growing up in childhood or substance use can be risk factors of IPV. At the household level, socioeconomic status, the woman’s economic status, quality of the marital relationship, and the number of children in the household can be factors that play into the presence of IPV. Sociocultural norms and beliefs can be some of the most pervasive risk factors leading to IPV, with gender norms and patriarchal beliefs stifling the voices of women in IPV relationships. In a culture that is rooted in religious beliefs that tout “pati Parmeshwar hai” (a husband is equivalent to God), the repercussions of speaking out against verbal, sexual, and physical abuse can be dire, and even life-threatening. In a Bangladeshi focus group for married women, one woman stated, “A woman who disobeys a husband or does not appreciate him will even have a place in Jahannam (hell)”. With such messages infusing the cultural beliefs of a population, there is such pressure on women to not report violence against them if it comes in the form of a marital partner (Samuels, Jones & Gupta, 2017).

Victims of intimate partner violence can go on to live full and meaningful lives despite their traumatic experiences, however, in order to do facilitate this process, it’s important to recognize victims that come forward and validate their emotions and experiences. While this is certainly not something that can be accomplished overnight, it is time that we begin introducing a conversation about IPV that advances knowledge and decreases the stigma of reporting violence and seeking help.

Resources for South Asian Women dealing with IPV:

Sakhi for South Asian Women

MAITRI

Asha for Women

Saheli

Saweraa

 Written by: Heer Panchal, M.S., M.A.

References:

Hurwitz EJH, Gupta J, Liu R, Silverman JG, Raj A. (2006). Intimate partner violence associated with poor health outcomes in U.S. South Asian women. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health. 8:251-261.

Raj, A., & Silverman, J. G. (2003). Immigrant South Asian women at greater risk for injury from intimate partner violence. American journal of public health, 93(3), 435-437.

Samuels F., Jones N., Gupta T. (2017) Tackling intimate partner violence in South Asia: why working with men and boys matters for women. Overseas Development Initiative.