Voicing Challenges: South Asian Immigrant Women Speak Out about their Experiences of Domestic Violence and Access to Services

Abstract

Domestic violence is often framed solely as a cultural and marginal problem within our society, despite its far-reaching impact on women from all racial backgrounds. Developing awareness for those affected necessitates reaching common ground on our thinking about abuse in ethno-cultural communities and how society can respond to this problem. Domestic violence exists in the South Asian community but continues to remain largely unaddressed due to it being underreported. This thesis focuses specifically on interviews conducted with South Asian immigrant women in Edmonton, Alberta, from December 2010 to April 2011. The seven participants disclose not only how abuse was experienced, but also their challenges in reporting and gaining access to services. The overarching power imbalance theory provides insight into the participants’ perceptions. Recommendations about the resources/services are offered to reduce the imbalances of power that exist.