Legislating Gender Inequalities: The Nature and Patterns of Domestic Violence Experienced by South Asian Women With Insecure Immigration Status in the United Kingdom

• NCJ Number: 237366
• Journal: Violence Against Women Volume: 17 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2011 Pages: 1260-1285
• Author(s): Sundari Anitha
• Date Published: October 2011
• Length: 26 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article reports on domestic violence faced by women with insecure immigration status in the United Kingdom.

Abstract

Research on domestic violence documents the particular vulnerability of immigrant women due to reasons including social isolation, language barriers, lack of awareness about services, and racism on the part of services. Based on qualitative interviews with 30 South Asian women with insecure immigration status residing in Yorkshire and Northwest England, this article explores how inequalities created by culture, gender, class, and race intersect with state immigration and welfare policies in the United Kingdom, thereby exacerbating structures of patriarchy within minority communities. It is within these contexts that South Asian women with insecure immigration status experience intensified forms and specific patterns of abuse. (Published Abstract)