An Exploratory Study of State-Level Policies to Address Domestic Violence-Related Needs of Asian Indian Marriage Migrants: Perspectives of Service Providers Across Five States

ABSTRACT

Domestic violence experiences of Asian Indian marriage migrants are unique due to an interplay of distinct aspects of their life contexts in the United States, such as immigration status, language barriers, and social support. What gaps exist in state-level policies to address the needs and concerns of abused Asian Indian marriage migrants? This research examines the question with interviews of 11 nonprofit sector professionals working closely with Asian Indian women across five states – California, Texas, New York, New Jersey, and North Carolina. The findings indicate that five critical areas of policy interventions profoundly impact the experiences of abused Asian Indian marriage migrants as they begin their journey to live independently of the abuser. Examining the strengths and weaknesses of these policies highlights that future holistic interventions should be strengthened to support the creation of a safe and protective environment for abused Asian Indian marriage migrants to navigate their lives.

KEYWORDS:

• Domestic violence
• Asian Indians
• State-level policies

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. “The U nonimmigrant status (U visa) is set aside for victims of certain crimes who have suffered mental or physical abuse and are helpful to law enforcement or government officials in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity. Congress created the U nonimmigrant visa with the passage of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (including the Battered Immigrant Women’s Protection Act) in October 2000. The legislation was intended to strengthen the ability of law enforcement agencies to investigate and prosecute cases of domestic violence, sexual assault, trafficking of noncitizens and other crimes, while also protecting victims of crimes who have suffered substantial mental or physical abuse due to the crime and are willing to help law enforcement authorities in the investigation or prosecution of the criminal activity. The legislation also helps law enforcement agencies to better serve victims of crimes.” See https://www.uscis.gov/humanitarian/victims-of-criminal-activity-u-nonimmigrant-status.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sonia Kapur

Sonia Kapur is an Associate Professor of International Studies at University of North Carolina at Asheville. Her research interests include immigration policy and domestic abuse, intersectionality, stratification and refugee studies. Her work has been published in Affilia, Violence Against Women, and Journal of Women, Politics and Policy.

Anna Zajicek

Anna Zajicek is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Her research interests include social inequality (intersectionality of gender/race/class/age), gender/race and STEM disciplines, institutional transformation, social policy, and discourse. She is the co-author of 2009 book: Incorporating intersectionality in Social Work Practice, Research, Policy and Education and has published in journals such as Public Administration Quarterly, Sociological Spectrum, Sociology of Race & Ethnicity, and Sociological Quarterly.