Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

How Domestic Violence Impacts Immigrant Victims

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Handbook of Interpersonal Violence and Abuse Across the Lifespan

Abstract

Immigrant victims, like all intimate partner violence victims, experience physical violence, emotional abuse, coercion, threats and intimidation, isolation, economic abuse, and sexual abuse. (A critical element of safety planning with intimate partner violence victims, in addition to addressing the abuse, is working with them to address other life and community-generated risks, which abusers frequently exploit to further perpetrate abuse). For immigrant victims of intimate partner violence, abusers may exploit their lack of English proficiency, isolation from their family and other helping systems, lack of understanding or familiarity with the American legal system, and religious and cultural customs to further threaten, isolate, and abuse them. In addition, abusers often use the victim’s lack of secure immigration status as a tool of coercion and control, by threatening detention and deportation alongside separation from children or other family members.

When immigrant victims do seek help, helping “systems” may lack the capacity to address the unique barriers facing immigrants. Some may have not implemented practices and policies to facilitate limited-English proficient victims in communicating their needs; others may be unfamiliar with the unique legal issues facing immigrant victims, and some systems impose restrictions on eligibility for services based on immigration status. At the same time, immigrant victims of intimate partner violence and their advocates have worked to implement policies and practices to support victim safety.

This chapter provides an overview of abuser risks, community-generated, and system- generated risks impacting immigrant victims of intimate partner violence and summarizes resources intended to mitigate those risks.

This chapter was initially published with an incorrect copyright holder name. It has been corrected to © Springer Nature Switzerland AG.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Ahmad, F., Riaz, S., Barata, P., & Stewart, D. (2004). Patriarchal beliefs and perceptions of abuse among South Asian immigrant women. Violence Against Women, 10, 262–282.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Alanen, J. (2008). When human rights conflict: Mediating international parental kidnapping disputes involving the domestic violence defense. University of Miami Inter-American Law Review, 40, 49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Amanor-Boadu, Y., Messing, J. T., Stith, S. M., Anderson, J. R., O’Sullivan, C., & Campbell, J. C. (2012). Immigrant and non-immigrant women: Factors that predict leaving an abusive relationship. Violence Against Women, 18, 611–633.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhuyan, R. (2008). The production of the “battered immigrant” in public policy and domestic violence advocacy. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 23, 153.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bhuyan, R., Mell, M., & Senturia, K. (2005). Women must endure according to their karma: Cambodian immigrant women talk about domestic violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20(8), 902–921.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bookey, B. (2013). Domestic violence as a basis for asylum: An analysis of 206 case outcomes in the United States from 1994 to 2012. Hastings Women’s Law Journal, 24, 107.

    Google Scholar 

  • Broder, T., Moussavian, A., & Blazer, J.. (2015). Overview of immigrant eligibility for federal programs. National Immigration Law Center, Retrieved from: https://www.nilc.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/overview-immeligfedprograms-2015-12-09.pdf

  • Bui, H. N. (2003). Help-seeking behavior among abused immigrant women. Violence Against Women, 9(2), 207–239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bui, H. N., & Morash, M. (2007). Social capital, human capital, and reaching out for help with domestic violence: A case study of women in a Vietnamese American community. Criminal Justice Studies: A Critical Journal of Crime, Law and Society, 20(4), 375–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Casa de Esperanza and the National Domestic Violence Hotline. (2013). Realidades Latinas: A national survey on the impact of immigration and language access on Latina survivors. Retrieved from: http://www.nationallatinonetwork.org/images/files/NLNRealidades_Latinas_The_Impact_of_Immigration_and_Language_Access_FINAL.pdf

  • Davies, J., & Lyon, E. (2014). Domestic violence advocacy, complex lives, difficult choices (2nd ed., pp. 39–40). Thousand Oaks: Sage.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Dutton, M., Orloff, L., & Hass, G. A. (2000). Characteristics of help-seeking behaviors, resources and service needs of battered immigrant Latinas: Legal and policy implications. Georgetown Journal of Gender, Social Policy & the Law, 7(2), 245–305.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erez, E. & Ammar, N. (2003). Violence against immigrant women and systemic responses: An exploratory study. National Network on Behalf of Battered Immigrant Women, National Institute of Justice Report grant # 98-WT-VX-0030. Retrieved from: https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/nij/grants/202561.pdf

  • Erez, E., & Hartley, C. (2003). Battered immigrant women and the legal system: A therapeutic jurisprudence perspective. Western Criminology Review, 4(2), 155–169.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erez, E., Adelman, M., & Gregory, C. (2009). Intersections of immigration and domestic violence: Voices of battered immigrant women. Feminist Criminology, 4(1), 32–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frye, V., Hosein, V., Waltermaurer, E., Blaney, S., & Wilt, S. (2005). Femicide in New York City: 1990 to 1999. Homicide Studies, 9(3), 204–228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ghumman, S., & Ryan, A. (2013). Not welcome here: Discrimination towards women who wear the Muslim headscarf. Human Relations, 66(5), 671–698.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldberg Edelson, M., Hokoda, A., & Ramos-Lira, L. (2007). Differences in effects of domestic violence between Latina and non-Latina women. Journal of Family Violence, 22(1), 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grossman, S. F., & Lundy, M. (2007). Domestic violence across race & ethnicity: Implications for social work practice and policy. Violence Against Women, 13, 1029–1052.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grzywacz, J. G., Rao, P., Gentry, A., Arcury, T. A., & Marín, A. (2009). Acculturation and conflict in Mexican immigrants’ intimate partnerships: The role of women’s labor force participation. Violence Against Women, 15(10), 1194–1212.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herman, J. (2003). The mental health of crime victims: Impact of legal intervention. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 16, 159–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaltman, S., Hurtado de Mendoza, A., Gonzales, F., Serrano, A., & Guarnaccia, P. (2011). Contextualizing the trauma experience of women immigrants from Central America, South America, and Mexico. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 24(6), 635–642.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kasturirangan, A., Krishnan, S., & Riger, S. (2004). The impact of culture and minority status on women’s experience of domestic violence. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 5, 318–332.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim, C., & Sung, H. E. (2016). The effects of acculturation on intimate partner violence among Chinese immigrants in New York City. Journal of Family Violence, 31, 325–336.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leung, P., & Cheung, M. (2008). A prevalence study on partner abuse in six Asian American ethnic groups in the USA. International Social Work, 51, 635.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liang, B., Goodman, L., Tummala-Narra, P., & Weintraub, S. (2005). A theoretical framework for understanding help-seeking processes among survivors of intimate partner violence. American Journal of Community Psychology, 36, 71–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mahapatra, N. (2012). South Asian women in the U.S. and their experience of domestic violence. Journal of Family Violence, 27, 381–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Menjívar, A. (2011). Enduring violence: Latina women’s lives in Guatemala. Berkeley: University of California Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Menjívar, C., & Salcido, O. (2002). Immigrant women and domestic violence: Common experiences in different countries. Gender and Society, 16(6), 898–920.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Messing, J. T., Amanor-Boadu, Y., Cavanaugh, C. E., Glass, N., & Campbell, J. C. (2013). Culturally competent intimate partner violence risk assessment: Adapting the danger assessment for immigrant women. Social Work Research, 37, 163–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Morash, M., Bui, H., Zhang, Y., & Holtfreter, K. (2007). Risk factors for abusive relationships a study of Vietnamese American immigrant women. Violence Against Women, 13(7), 653–675.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence. (2002). Immigrant battered women power and control wheel, produced and distributed by National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence, Austin, TX, and adapted from original wheel by domestic abuse intervention project, Duluth, MN. Retrieved from: www.endingviolence.org/files/uploads/ImmigrantWomenPCwheel.pdf

  • Passel, J. (2006). Size and Characteristics of the Unauthorized Migrant Population in the U.S. Pew Research Center Report, available at http://www.pewhispanic.org/2006/03/07/size-and-characteristics-of-the-unauthorized-migrant-population-in-the-us/, https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/2006/03/07/size-and-characteristics-of-the-unauthorized-migrant-population-in-the-us/

  • Postmus, J. L., Plummer, S. B., McMahon, S., Murshid, N. S., & Kim, M. S. (2012). Understanding economic abuse in the lives of survivors. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 27(3), 411–430.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raj, A., & Silverman, J. (2002). Violence against women: The roles of culture, context, and legal immigrant status on intimate partner violence. Violence Against Women, 8, 367–398.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raj, A., Silverman, J., McCleary-Sills, J., & Liu, R. (2005). Immigration policies increase South Asian immigrant women’s vulnerability to intimate partner violence. Journal of the American Medical Women’s Association, 60(1), 26–32.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reina, A., Lohman, B., & Maldonado, M. (2014). “He said they’d deport me”: Factors influencing domestic violence help-seeking practices among Latina immigrants. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 29(4), 593–615.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rivera, J. (2003). The availability of domestic violence services for Latinas in New York state: Phase II investigation. Buffalo Public Interest Law Journal, 21, 37–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Runner, M., & Warrier, S. (2001). Cultural considerations in domestic violence cases: A national judicial education curriculum. San Francisco: Family Violence Prevention Fund.

    Google Scholar 

  • Runner, M., Yoshihama, M., & Novick, S. (2009). Intimate partner violence in immigrant and refugee communities: Challenges, promising practices and recommendations. Retrieved from https://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/userfiles/file/ImmigrantWomen/IPV_Report_March_2009.pdf

  • Sabri, B., Nnawulezi, N., Njie-Carr, V., Messing, J., Ward-Lasher, A., Alvarez, C., & Campbell, J. (2018a). Multilevel risk and protective factors for intimate partner violence among African, Asian, and Latina immigrant and refugee women: Perceptions of effective safety planning interventions. Race and Social Problems, 1–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sabri, B., Campbell, J., & Messing, J. (2018b). Intimate partner homicides in the United States, 2003–2013: A comparison of immigrants and nonimmigrant victims. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thronson, D. (2005). Of borders and best interests: Examining the experiences of undocumented immigrants in U.S. family courts. Texas Hispanic Journal of Law & Policy, 11(45), 54–55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thronson, D., & Sullivan, F. (2012). Family courts and immigration status. Juvenile and Family Court Journal, 63(1), 1–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service. (1996). INS implementation of crime bill self-petitioning for abused or battered spouses or children of U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents. Retrieved from: https://asistahelp.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/First-VAWA-memo-1995.pdf

  • Weber, D. (2010). (Unfair) advantage: Damocles’ sword and the coercive use of immigration status in a civil society. Marquette Law Review, 94, 613.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yoshihama, M., Blazevskim, J., & Bybee, D. (2014). Enculturation and attitudes toward intimate partner violence and gender roles in an Asian Indian population: Implications for community-based prevention. American Journal of Community Psychology, 53, 249–260.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zong, J., Batalova, J., & Hallock, J. (2018). Frequently requested statistics on immigrants and immigration in the United States. Migration Policy Institute. Retrieved from: https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-and-immigration-united-states#ChangeOverTime

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence, Seattle, WA, USA

    Grace Huang

Authors
  1. Grace Huang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Grace Huang .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma, Alliant International University, San Diego, CA, USA

    Robert Geffner

  2. School of Health and Human Sciences, University of North Carolina at Greensbo, Greensboro, NC, USA

    Jacquelyn W. White

  3. Dept of Family and Community Medicine, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA

    L. Kevin Hamberger

  4. Department of Psychology, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, USA

    Alan Rosenbaum

  5. Ethelyn R. Strong School of Social Work, Norfolk State University, Norfolk, VA, USA

    Viola Vaughan-Eden

  6. Education and Research, Zero Abuse Project, St. Paul, MN, USA

    Victor I. Vieth

Section Editor information

  1. Consultant, Alexandria, VA, USA

    Glenna Tinney

  2. College of Arts and Sciences - Society, Culture, and Language, University of South Florida - St. Petersburg, St. Petersburg, Florida, USA

    Shelly M. Wagers

  3. University of North Carolina- Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, USA

    Jennifer Langhinrichsen-Rohling

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this entry

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this entry

Huang, G. (2019). How Domestic Violence Impacts Immigrant Victims. In: Geffner, R., White, J.W., Hamberger, L.K., Rosenbaum, A., Vaughan-Eden, V., Vieth, V.I. (eds) Handbook of Interpersonal Violence and Abuse Across the Lifespan. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62122-7_163-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62122-7_163-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-62122-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-62122-7

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation