Getting Out of Harm's Way: One-Year Outcomes for Abused Women in a Vietnamese Immigrant Enclave

• NCJ Number: 225223
• Journal: Violence Against Women Volume: 14 Issue: 12 Dated: December 2008 Pages: 1413-1429
• Author(s): Merry Morash; Hoan Bui; Tia Stevens; Yan Zhang
• Date Published: December 2008
• Length: 17 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Research (Applied/Empirical)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article examines the circumstance, actions, and experiences of Vietnamese women immigrants with a recent history of intimate partner violence.

Abstract

Women’s beliefs in maintaining an intact family, patriarchal decisionmaking, and fear of their partners characterized women remaining in the Vietnamese American enclave. To a lesser extent, seeking help from a variety of places characterized women who escaped, and concern with achieving important goals, number of children, financial dependence, lack of support, and legal marriage characterized women who remained. Features of Vietnamese culture as it originated and has been transported and adapted in the United States could support persisting intimate partner violence against women. Building on and extending on studies on intimate partner violence, this study identifies predictors of women remaining entangled in abusive relationships. The study sample included 57 women in 1 Vietnamese American enclave. Tables and references