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![Power and Control Wheel for immigrant women. (Source: Futures Without Violence [http://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/power-and-control-tactics-used-against-immigrantwomen])](profile/Shreya-Bhandari-6/publication/302919443/figure/fig1/AS:744377735458819@1554484890747/Power-and-Control-Wheel-for-immigrant-women-Source-Futures-Without-Violence.png)
Power and Control Wheel for immigrant women. (Source: Futures Without Violence [http://www.futureswithoutviolence.org/power-and-control-tactics-used-against-immigrantwomen])
Source publication
This article describes the lived experiences of domestic violence among a convenience sample of 20 South Asian women. The experiences of abuse are drawn from in-depth telephonic interviews conducted all across the United States. The analysis describes four major categories of abuse: (a) types of abuse; (b) abuse involving children; (c) family invol...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... Power and Control Wheel (Pence & Paymer, 1993) was developed on the basis of experiences of 200 abused in a battered women's shelter in Duluth, Minnesota. Futures Without Violence developed an alternate wheel for immigrant women adapted from the Duluth Power and Control Wheel that gives examples of each control tactic in the context of immigrant women's lives (see Figure 1). The eight tactics presented in the Power and Control Wheel for immigrant women include (a) isolation; (b) emotional abuse; (c) intimidation; (d) economic abuse; (e) using citizenship or residency privilege; (f) sexual abuse; (g) threats; and (h) using children. ...
Similar publications
Purpose
To gain knowledge and understanding about the lived experiences involving children exposed to domestic violence (DV) from the perspective of abused South Asian women in the United States (U.S). The authors postulate that by learning more about these experiences we can contribute to the literature and help service providers create more inclu...
Citations
... It was not just protection from violence but also providing a good quality of life for their children that women were concerned about. As reported in other studies on abused South Asian women in the U.S., the turning point in the lives of many women in the current study that drove them to take some action against the abuse was thinking about their children's future (Bhandari, 2022;Jordan & Bhandari, 2016), and in some cases, their children themselves pointed out that their mothers needed to leave the abusive situation. The unique finding reported in this study is that the women went back and forth with their decisions, but the children who were involved pointed out that they needed to leave the abusive relationship. ...
... It is well documented that son preference exists in South Asian cultures (Mitra, 2015;Saeed, 2015), since sons perform the last rites upon the death of parents, take the family name to the next generation, and support them financially in their old age (Rew et al., 2013;Jordan & Bhandari, 2016). Yet, there is not much research to support the association between DV and son preference among South Asians in the U.S. Research among South Asians connects son preference with girls experiencing possible additional trauma and reduced social support from their families (Ragavan et al., 2018). ...
... Whether it was a condition to divorce or the kidnapping of the son from the home-based day care, all of these are indicators of the extent that the abusive husbands and their families were willing to go when the custody of the son was involved rather than a daughter. It is in line with the South Asian culture that values sons over daughters (Jordan & Bhandari, 2016;Bhandari, 2024). ...
Purpose
To gain knowledge and understanding about the lived experiences involving children exposed to domestic violence (DV) from the perspective of abused South Asian women in the United States (U.S). The authors postulate that by learning more about these experiences we can contribute to the literature and help service providers create more inclusive and culturally responsive services for abused South Asian women and children.
Methods
In-depth telephonic interviews were conducted with 14 abused South Asian women in the U.S. to understand their experiences involving their children. Thematic analysis was conducted by the authors to understand the perceptions of South Asian mothers about their responses when children were involved.
Results
The following themes emerged: (1) manipulation and control; (a) contentious custody battles with limited resources (b) son preference (c) deeming the mother unfit (2) the impact of abuse on children.
Conclusion
It is important for clinicians to understand the ways in which power and control are utilized by South Asian perpetrators to control women and use children as pawns in the context of intersecting identities of gender, immigration status and racial-ethnic background.
... At present, a substantial proportion of Indian women migrate to the United States based on a visa that is dependent on their spouse and their legal status in the United States tied to their husband's status (Abraham 2000;Kelkar 2012;Bhandari 2008;Tripathi and Azhar 2020). Women on spousal-dependent visas face immigration-related restrictions related to employment and their benefits eligibility connected to their spouses (Yick and Oomen-Early 2008;Mahapatra 2012;Kim and Hogge 2015;Jordan and Bhandari 2016;Anitha et al. 2018;Bhandari and Sabri 2020;Tripathi and Azhar 2020). ...
... Previous literature also highlights psychological abuse as the more common form of abuse among South Asian women. Social isolation is another form of abuse (Mahapatra 2012;Jordan and Bhandari 2016;Bhandari and Sabri 2020;Tripathi and Azhar 2020). The husbands prevent women from establishing social networks in the United States. ...
... This lack of trust can also deter help-seeking among survivors. Research indicates that psychological abuse, the more common form of abuse among Indian immigrant women in the United States, significantly impacts their sense of self and overall health (Mahapatra 2012;Jordan and Bhandari 2016;Bhandari and Sabri 2020;Tripathi and Azhar 2020). However, most survivors experiencing psychological abuse may delay help-seeking because they may not perceive their experiences as abuses (Lelaurain et al. 2017). ...
... Most South Asian families follow strict gender roles with men as primary breadwinners who usually first immigrate to the U.S. (or outside the country) for better academic or employment opportunities, and in some cases to join their already existing extended family (Midlarsky et al., 2006). Arranged marriage which is a union of two families rather than two individuals are still very common in South Asia (What the data tells us about love & marriage in India, 2021) and usually occur in similar caste for Hindus and sects for other religions with interfaith marriages being rare (Jordan & Bhandari, 2016;Rew et al., 2013). It is important to contextualize transnational arranged marriages in South Asia to understand the gender imbalances. ...
Purpose
To examine the experiences of transnational abandonment among abused South Asian women in the United States (U.S.) to be able to contribute to the scant literature on this topic.
Methods
The in-depth interviews of a sub-set of seven out of 40 South Asian participants experiencing domestic violence in the U.S. was analyzed to examine the patterns and experiences of transnational abandonment.
Results
Experiences with transnational abandonment can be described through the following themes; (1) women already living in the U.S. coaxed or deceived and either sent back to their home country or rendered homeless in the U.S., (2) women who tried to come back to the U.S., asked to come to a new city where they did not have any social support; (3) impact of abandonment on relationship with their children.
Conclusion
It is extremely important that social workers and helping professionals demonstrate awareness and cultural sensitivity towards issues such as transnational abandonment and intervene to connect clients with resources so that they have the emotional energy to fight long immigration and custody battles. Practice and policy implications are discussed.
... Extant literature highlights the manner in which various forms of violence by in-laws manifest. For instance, emotional violence may include movement restriction and social isolation whereby one is not allowed to interact or communicate with others including one's natal family (Bentley, 2018;Jordan and Bhandari, 2016). Control and coercion on the other hand denies the victim the freedom to make independent decisions, as is the case with reproductive coercion which is the intentional control of a person's (mostly women) reproductive choices (Grace, 2016;Silverman et al., 2019). ...
... Control and coercion on the other hand denies the victim the freedom to make independent decisions, as is the case with reproductive coercion which is the intentional control of a person's (mostly women) reproductive choices (Grace, 2016;Silverman et al., 2019). Verbal abuse and degradation aimed at intimidating or scaring the subject with threats to harm as well as domestic servitude are other common manifestations of emotional violence by in-laws (Bentley, 2018;Jordan and Bhandari, 2016). Economic control on the other hand is embodied in a lack of the autonomy to earn a living, access finances and make decisions on spending, even for personal items such as clothes (Rew et al., 2013). ...
... Several studies have established that a woman is often mistreated by in-laws if it is felt that her family had not given a decent dowry. Such maltreatment could take the form of physical violence, verbal insults sometimes criticizing her birth family, her suitability as a wife or even threats of divorce since she is seen as a financial burden (Jordan and Bhandari, 2016;Bentley, 2018;Gondal, 2015;Sabri and Young, 2022). ...
Purpose
Violence within extended kinship contexts remains understudied. This study sought to estimate the prevalence of physical violence perpetrated by in-laws.
Methods
Demographic and Health Surveys’ data collected between 2011 and 2020 were utilized. Data for females and males were derived from 47 and 10 countries respectively. We estimated the prevalence of being physically hurt by mothers-in-law, fathers-in-law and other in-laws against participating females (n=420 020) and males (n=71 629) separately.
Results
The pooled prevalence for in-law perpetrated physical violence against female respondents was 0.38% (95% CI 0.34, 0.42). The prevalence of violence from mothers-in-law was 0.18% (95% CI 0.15, 0.21), fathers-in-law was 0.11% (95% CI 0.09, 0.13) and other in-laws 0.20% (95% CI 0.17, 0.23). The pooled prevalence of in-law violence against male respondents was 0.56%; (95% CI 0.45, 0.71), and from mothers-in-law was 0.08%; (95% CI 0.05, 0.13), fathers-in-law was 0.05%; (95% CI 0.03, 0.09) and other in-laws was 0.51%; (95% CI 0.39, 0.66). Among individual countries, the highest prevalence among females and males was recorded in Afghanistan at 4.07% (95% CI 3.30, 5.02) and in Mozambique at 2.24%; (95% CI 1.56, 3.20) respectively.
Conclusion
Violence by in-laws affects both men and women in varying degrees across different countries. The data indicate that it is possible for one individual to experience violence perpetrated by more than one extended family member. Given the paucity of research in this area, it is hoped that the results may stimulate further inquiry into relevant contextual and social variables which influence in-law violence.
... Research with abused South Asian women in the United States has already stated that both children and support from the community can work both ways (Jordan & Bhandari, 2016;Rai & Choi, 2018), reinforcing that what is essential is to try and convert each barrier into a facilitator. For example, the community in general and South Asians in particular need to come together to help the woman in crisis with immediate material and emotional support as well as to enable her to sustain the long legal battle, especially when she decides to take action. ...
... Another reason could also be that some women participated in the study after being out of the abusive situation for a very long time and had attained their permanent residency or United States citizenship by then. Women also did not view going back to the home country as a viable option due to the stigmatization of divorce (Jordan & Bhandari, 2016;Finfgeld-Connett & Johnson, 2013). Most women in the current study described their natal family as not being supportive in the beginning but later, as the abusive situation got worse, as providing some form of support. ...
... The natal family being supportive towards the abused woman needs to be viewed in the context of how South Asian marriages occur as well South Asian values. Most marriages in the South Asian culture occur between two families and within a cultural belief in interdependence; that is, collectivism rather than individualism (Jordan & Bhandari, 2016). ...
Violence against women and girls (VAWG) often increases after disasters and humanitarian crises. This article presents evidence from Nepal, a country where notable progress has been made on gender equality, but where VAWG continues to be an endemic. The 2015 April earthquake in Nepal led to an increase in reporting of VAWG, and women and girls in camps and temporary shelters reported fear and insecurity instilled by risk of violence and lack of privacy. Grassroots responses to the earthquake showed how humanitarian aid, emergency health care, and local disaster responses can challenge VAWG while offering safe spaces for women and girls. Research since the earthquakes with activists and non-government organisations (NGOs) indicates how disaster response efforts face continuous challenges posed by VAWG. This article draws on interviews with grassroots activists and NGO staff in Nepal, and shares experiences and lessons learnt that can help in addressing, challenging, and minimising VAWG in emergency situations and humanitarian crisis.
This article is informed by thematic analysis of qualitative data from three separate studies, collected by employing semi-structured interviews, focus group discussions, and social media interaction with women and girls affected by the earthquake, women activists, and NGO staff.
Our research highlights a number of barriers to addressing VAWG, such as preexisting vulnerabilities in low-income contexts, the breakdown of social/family networks, and lack of pre-crisis protection mechanisms. Further, our findings indicate that the cultural and socio-economic context influences women and girls’ experiences of violence during humanitarian crises. Our findings emphasise the importance of taking an intersectional and inclusive approach to ensure that all women, including the most vulnerable women and girls (those with disabilities, Dalits, older women, and single women) are included in prevention mechanisms, with a special focus on gender-based violence (GBV) risk assessment and protection interventions.
Based on our research in Nepal, we make recommendations to practitioners and policy makers for interventions which address VAWG in humanitarian crises
... Similarly, male dominance and female submission were significant themes among Chinese respondents' experiences of IPV, one of whom recalled her husband's announcement that 'The woman whom I marry should be as docile as a sheep, and should never talk back' (Chiu, 2017(Chiu, , p. 1301). According to Jordan and Bhandari (2016) South Asian cultural values also prize masculinity, believed to derive through virility and the ability to control women. ...
... It was not uncommon for women from various cultural backgrounds to experience interference from their in-laws, as noted by an African respondent: 'My mother-in-law, she tell me she will tell the police I am the troublemaker, that I am the crazy one' (Ting & Panchanadeswaran, 2009, p. 825). Jordan and Bhandari (2016) note that South Asian women may also experience abuse from their husband's family, highlighting the significant impact of culture and the resulting powerlessness experienced by women. ...
... As a result of the historically adverse relationship between the police and the Black community, Monterrosa (2019, p. 160) found that many women were deterred from seeking police assistance and, as such, endured 'longer periods of more severe abuse'. Women only called the police when they were in life-threatening situations (Jordan & Bhandari, 2016;Parson et al., 2016). Respondents from other ethnic groups also noted police discrimination. ...
It is well known that victims of intimate partner violence experience numerous barriers to leaving abusive relationships. For ethnic minority and immigrant women these barriers are significantly exacerbated. This metasynthesis explored barriers to help-seeking as experienced by Black, Asian, minority ethnic and immigrant women with experience of intimate partner violence. A review of worldwide literature published in English in peer-reviewed journals on this topic from 2000 to July 2020 produced 2597 relevant articles. After removing duplicates and applying the exclusion criteria, a total of 47 articles were selected for inclusion in the review. The synthesis found that these women faced additional barriers as a result of institutional racism, immigration laws, culture and religion, and issues of cultural competence, and lack of diversity within frontline services. Such barriers, from a range of formal and informal resources, services and other mechanisms of support, served to exacerbate feelings of fear, threat, isolation and powerlessness. The barriers were also further weaponised by perpetrators in order to extend their reign of terror and control. As a result, women were caught in a double-bind – stay in an abusive relationship or face further threats and consequences if they attempted to leave. Whilst our search criteria focused on barriers to help-seeking, many of the papers included in our synthesis also explored facilitators to help-seeking, which are included in our findings and overwhelmingly relate to informal support from females.
... The reasons for their opposition included distrust that the services and police understood their cultural concerns, uncertainty about their own ability to describe their issues, and concern over the consequences of their action. Hence, for many women in migrant communities who experience abuse, police intervention is considered a last resort and for those who are in a life-threatening or intolerable situation (Ergöçmen et al., 2013;Jordan & Bhandari, 2016;Othman et al., 2014). Families also play a crucial role in disclosing violence and seeking help, particularly for Muslims (Afrouz et al., 2020;Al-Modallal, 2017). ...
Help seeking for domestic violence is complex and multifaceted, and settling in a new country might make the help-seeking process more challenging and complicated. This study explored the barriers to seeking help for domestic violence, specifically experienced by Afghan women after settling in Australia. The study involved 21 semistructured interviews with newly arrived Afghan women. Interviews were audio recorded and transcribed, and the data were analysed thematically. The barriers Afghan women experienced were embodied in cultural norms to stay in marital relationships, demands to preserve the family’s reputation, personal circumstances, and women’s experiences with, and perspectives on, available services. The findings suggest that policy and practice should recognise those barriers and respond to them in a culturally appropriate way.
IMPLICATIONS
• Domestic violence services’ procedures and processes should be developed based on an understanding of multiple layers of oppression and barriers to seeking help for migrant women.
• Service providers should apply an intersectional lens along with antioppressive perspectives to address barriers to domestic violence services women experience at different levels.
• Social workers in domestic violence services need relevant training to provide culturally appropriate services to migrant women.
... It is unclear whether factors such as age at immigration and length of stay in the United States play a role in influencing Chinese immigrant women's experiences of IPV and decisions about remaining in an abusive relationship. Sixth, previous studies with immigrant survivors of IPV have reported that children were often a significant factor in deciding whether to stay in the abusive relationship (Ahmad et al., 2009;Jordan & Bhandari, 2016), but our participants did not share any concern about the involvement of children in the abuse. Indeed, most of our participants did not have children. ...
Objective: Very little research has been conducted on intimate partner violence (IPV) against Chinese immigrant women living in the United States, including qualitative explorations of the lived experiences of IPV among Chinese immigrant survivors. This study presents Chinese immigrant women’s experiences of IPV and its mental health consequences, with a focus on the roles of traditional culture, immigration, and acculturation in survivors’ experiences. Method: Phone interviews were conducted with 20 Chinese immigrant women living in the United States who had experienced IPV during the past year. Participants’ mean age was 29 years; they were recruited via social network sites. Results: Almost all participants reported emotional abuse, three reported physical violence, and one reported sexual violence. They experienced “cold violence” frequently, and they described how IPV tortured them mentally. The women shared their thoughts on how their experiences of IPV were shaped by traditional Chinese patriarchal family structure, immigration, financial and legal dependence on their abuser, adjustment to life in the United States, and social isolation. Conclusions: There is a need for further research on the prevalence, causes, and consequences of “cold violence” and the development and validation of measures for this type of abuse. It is important to consider culture, immigration, and acculturation in services for Chinese immigrant women who experience IPV. Culturally appropriate, accessible services are needed to meet these women’s needs.
... Similarly, African American and Black women may experience cultural or familial pressures, insofar as they "often feel that they have a particular responsibility to sustain the family and make necessary self-sacrifices not just for the family but to not bring additional shame to the community" (Bent-Goodley, 2014, p. 101). Among Asian women, the perception of Asians in the United States as the "model minority" may exert sociocultural pressure to avoid disclosing IPV, and these pressures may be reinforced by cultural beliefs about accepting one's fate and serving the family above the self (Jordan & Bhandari, 2016). Understanding how women of color consider reporting IPV and/or SA is thus crucial to supporting the health and safety of affected women and the development of culturally congruent responses. ...
Introduction: The purpose of this study was to explore how women of color affiliated with a large public university in the United States evaluated involving authorities in cases of intimate partner violence (IPV) and/or sexual assault (SA) and to discover if structural stressors such as racism or sexism influenced their thinking. Methodology: Surveys on perceived ethnic discrimination, depression, trauma history, stress, social support, resilience, and sleep disturbance were completed by 87 self-identified women of color. All women also participated in one of several focus groups on IPV and SA. Results: Roughly half of participants had experienced SA and about a third experienced IPV. Participants identifying as Latinx/Hispanic or Black/African American reported the greatest experiences of structural stressors and also felt there was not always a potential safety gain with reporting IPV and/or SA. Discussion: The results of this study suggest universities must create more culturally competent environs of safety for women of color.
... Women gain social status by keeping their marriage intact and bearing sons to take the family name forward Finfgeld-Connett & Johnson, 2013). Abuse in the South Asian culture is not just perpetrated by the intimate partner but also by members of in-laws side of the family (Jordan & Bhandari, 2016). When abuse occurs, South Asian women tend to minimize it as they do not want to hamper family harmony, and/or fear losing the custody of their children. ...
... While there is documentation of abuse experiences of South Asian women in the US Jordan & Bhandari, 2016;Mahapatra & DiNitto, 2013;Raj & Silverman, 2002) and Indian women (Bhandari & Hughes, 2017;Kalokhe et al., 2015), there is no study, to our knowledge where the authors have identified the experiences of two groups. According to the Pew Research Center (2012), Asian Indians is the largest subgroup of South Asians in the US and hence the identification of similarities and differences of experiences of South Asian women with women from India is pertinent. ...
... Women on the other hand in both groups sought to restore their marriage in spite of facing violence and abandonment. They were willing to compromise and live with the abusive husband since divorce is highly stigmatized in the South Asian culture (Jordan & Bhandari, 2016). ...
The authors describe the experiences of abuse drawn from in-depth interviews conducted with 20 South Asian women in the United States and a sample of 21 abused women in Mumbai, India. We describe five major themes that identify the nature of domestic violence experienced in these two contexts, barriers to help-seeking and exiting abuse, and the process of ending the abusive relationship. The research sheds light on the similarities and differences in the two contexts. We outlined the similarities in the following themes (a) type of abuse, (b) treatment of children (c) abandonment. We found differences in the following themes (d) joint meeting, (e) back and forth between natal and marital home.
