Description
Book SynopsisThis text looks at South Asian women's experiences of domestic violence, whether physical, sexual, verbal or mental. It explains how immigration issues, cultural assumptions, and unfamiliarity with the American social, legal, and economic systems make these women especially vulnerable.
Trade ReviewMargaret Abraham breaks through the myth of the 'model minority' and speaks the unspeakable: violence against women in our families. She articulates the complexities of domestic violence in South Asian women's lives circumscribed by culture, tradition, law, and isolation in a new country. Through it all, we hear women's voices and experiences loud and clear. -- Shamita Das Dasgupta * editor of A Patchwork Shawl: Chronicles of South Asian Women in America *
This groundbreaking book combines an insightful scholarly analysis with the powerful voices of women. Also important are its presentation of sexual abuse and its emphasis on individual and community resistance and on cultural and legal oppression. -- Jacquelyn Campbell * coeditor of To Have and to Hit: Cultural Perspectives in Wife Battering *
Table of ContentsPreface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Framing the Issues
Marriage and Family
Immigrant Status and Marital Violence
Isolation: Alone in a Foreign Country
Sexual Abuse
Internal and External Barriers: It's Not Only the Abuser
Fighting Back: Abused Women's Strategies of Resistance
Making a Difference: South Asian Women's Organizations in the United States
Looking Back, Looking Ahead: Reflections on Our Transformational Politic
Appendix A. Profile of Respondents at Time of Interview
Appendix B. Notes on the Research Process
Notes
References
Index
