The subject of violence against women is a rather sensitive topic for most. For centuries, women have experienced violence. Whether is is inflicted by a random individual, or their significant other, they experience it more often than never. The US Department of Health and Human Services states “intimate partner violence is the most common type of violence women face in today’s world.” (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – Office on Women’s Health, 2003). It is no surprise that women in general experience abuse however, being a women and an immigrant women is an even bigger disadvantage due to the society we live in. Not only are they women, but they are also immigrant women therefore, the oppression they are enduring is intersectional. Throughout this paper, i will discuss how the abuse women experience is far much more gruesome than those with a citizenship status. This is depicted through many factors. Some factors include the power the abuser holds, financial stability, being reliant on their partners, staying in the relationship for the sake of their families, and not having citizenship in their host country. Aside from these factors, many women don't speak up simply because they are afraid of the consequences that may follow after speaking out. Immigrant women also experience a language barrier that can hold them back and they also lack the resources that could potentially help them. Many women also stay in abusive relationships due to their cultural beliefs and values. Women’s Shelters Canada states “Immigrant, refugee, and non-status women face particular barriers in accessing justice and social services due to the lack of access to information about their rights, language barriers, isolation, or not knowing where to turn for help.” (Fede, 2017, page 4). It is for these reasons, immigrant women usually decide to stay in these abusive relationships.
Firstly, manipulation and the power of the abuser plays a key role in why immigrant women might decide to stay in a relationship or marriage and as a result, continuously get abused. The canadian council for refugees claims that “immigrant women might get manipulated in numerous ways. For example, her spouse or partner may prohibit her from learning English/French or from working, keep her isolated in the home, threaten to take custody of the children, threaten to alienate her from their cultural community by telling people she is a bad wife/mother, etc.” (Canadian Council for Refugees, n.d.) This goes to show that their partners have an upper hand on immigrant women as well as refugees due to their status and their vulnerable state.
In order to understand the concept of manipulation, it is important to discuss the reason in which immigrant women are easily manipulated. This isn’t because they are not strong willed women and this is certainly not a jab into their character. This is simply due to the status that they do not uphold. With that being said, citizenship is crucial for most of these cases. Many of these women feel helpless when it comes to abuse due to their status and fear being neglected. Not obtaining an official citizenship immediately certainly restrains the woman. This is a domino effect in the sense that this leads to various other issues such as the lack of support systems that should be available to these women in their vulnerable state. The Canadian council for refugees claim that these women are “particularly vulnerable when experiencing abuse because they have no legal status. This often makes them too afraid to call the police when a domestic violence incident occurs. They fear that police involvement will lead to deportation. Also, many women are afraid to access any social services because they fear that their lack of status could become known.” (Canadian Council for Refugees, n.d.). This statement reinforces the idea of the power of the abuser and that their partner who abuse them usually do so because they’re aware that these women need them and if they don’t oblige to what they demand, they have to fear the concept of potentially being deported or have the authorities being involved. In the article, “Legal Options for Immigrant Women Who Are Victims of Exploitation and Abuse, the authors state “due to caps on the numbers of visas issued annually, significant backlogs exist in most immigrant visa categories, and immigrants do not qualify for any type of temporary status or work authorization until final approval.” (Dang et al, 2012, page. 65). This statement goes to prove that we are constantly in high demand in terms of gaining a citizenship however, the process and time it takes to actually gain one is long and for the most part, never guaranteed. This is also claims that they do not qualify for any type of temporary status so a full approval will have to be granted before any action can truly take place. The author continues to explain “the long-term dependence on the sponsor and the inability of many immigrants to legalize independent of a sponsor creates an opportunity for exploitation and abuse.” (Dang et.al. 2012, page 66). Rather than our own legal systems catering to these women and helping them due to their vulnerable state, they are built in a way that only adds to their oppression. The author explains how most employment are male dominated because we live in a male dominated society therefore “the principle immigrants is the male head of household – women must rely on husbands and fathers for many years for their immigration status.” (Dang et.al, 2013, page 66). Many women stay with their abusive partners in fear of being deported back to their homeland and many stay due to the given circumstances. They are aware that they cannot be properly assisted without legal authorities getting involved. Unfortunately, depending on their status and situation, it may actually be safer for them to remain silent.
Being financially stable is crucial for most individuals. Regardless of one's citizenship status, it is a necessity for most of us in order to truly survive in this day and age. Without some source of income, individuals are left living in an uncomfortable state. However, it is considered to be much more worse for immigrants; especially those who do not hold their citizenship status’ yet. Being a new immigrant to the country is hard in itself due to the culture shock they may experience and having to adjust to a new life. On top of that, finding a job has been proven to be difficult. This is due to all of the barriers that they are faced with. Many immigrant women either don't have their status and many women are undocumented and actually hold no status what so ever. There are many reasons immigrant women aren’t financially in the best spot. Firstly, many of them aren’t registered and have fled their country due to unfortunate circumstances. This leaves them with very little opportunity and not many options. For example, in an article written by Leisy J. Abrego and Leah Schmalzbauer, they are retelling the stories of undocumented women. Take for example the story of Gaby “Gaby is an undocumented single mother who lives in Montana with her youngest son Raul, a US citizen. Her two older sons were deported to Mexico in 2010. Gaby works two jobs as a dishwasher while Raul attends school and after-care. The logistics of daily life work relatively well as long as school is in session and Raul is healthy. But when school is closed or Raul is sick, life becomes unduly complicated. The network Gaby can tap for support is both small and dispersed; she lives several miles outside of town and has no close neighbors. Most of the time, she has to manage on her own. Gaby drives without a license, and her anxiety about a police stop is high.” (Abrego et.al, 2018, page 10). This goes to show that these mothers truly go through so much and over work themselves to provide for their children. In this specific situation, Gaby holds no status which is why she has to manage to work two jobs because of her low income pay. Gaby isn’t given the opportunity that women with citizenships have therefore she is forced to figure it out on her own. The concept of lack of opportunity is simply a result of her lack of status therefore making her financially unstable and puts a limit to living a better life. Many immigrant women who have attained an educational background in their native country can’t seem to find jobs when they immigrate to a different country. This is due to the several factors. Credits that they attain from their native country don’t necessarily count as the same in a different country. For example, many individuals who immigrate to Canada have great educational backgrounds in their own homeland but cannot seem to get the job they need here. Immigrant women who attain an educational background back in their native country cannot access jobs when they move countries due to the fact that they don’t satisfy the educational requirements here and several other attributes. In an article written by Diane Galarneau and René Morissette, they claim that “even after 15 years, immigrants with a university degree are still more likely than native-born to be in low-skilled jobs.” (Galarneau et.al, 2009, page 5). This can be due to the fact that their credits don’t transfer entirely here. To reinforce this idea, the article states “Experience acquired in foreign countries is not always recognized in the Canadian labour market” (Galarneau et.al, 2009,page 8) or could simply be due to the fact that “their recent arrival, their lack of information about the Canadian labour market, and their lack of contacts” (Galarneau et.al, 2009, page 8) don’t allow them to be qualified enough for the job. Their lack of status truly gets in the way of a high paid job and only allows them to obtain a low income job as opposed to individuals who are born and raised in Canada. The fact that immigrant women are most likely not getting paid enough results in them becoming more reliant on their partners. Society has created these barriers for these women rather then the system helping them, it rejects them. Depending on the situation, the women can be getting abused but lacks financial stability due to several reasons. Whether it be due to their educational background not being recognized to obtain a high income, the lack of knowledge of the labour market in the country they are in, or due to the simple fact that the only jobs they are able to get are low income paying one, not being financially stable can trap a women into thinking she has no other choice but to stay with her abusive partner in order to survive or to provide for their children in most cases. The matter of staying for the sake of the children will be discussed in another paragraph down below.
Another matter that could potentially force immigrant women to stay in an abusive relationship is the language barrier they have while entering these new countries. Although this may be a rather obvious barrier, it can affect the decision making process when deciding whether or not they should stay in this abusive relationship or pack up their bags up and leave. It is already difficult entering a new country due to the culture shock that one may experience. However, not being able to speak the native language fluently can often limit them. These women come from all sorts of different backgrounds and not having the ability to express themselves freely is another barrier they have to face on a daily basis. Unfortunately, not having the ability to speak the native language in a country can often lead to ones issues being ignored. This is due to the fact that many of these women are undocumented therefore they avoid going to seek for help because they aren’t capable of communicating their needs which leads into a continuous cycle of abuse. The lack of women seeking for help isn’t just a result of a language barrier on their end, our system also doesn’t do a good job at tailoring to these women's needs. The language barrier not only limits them from seeking for help but could also lead into them remaining in an abusive relationship. In a case that happened back in 2013, a woman who was pushed down the stairs by her partner was ignored by authorities rather then helped. In this specific case, the authorities told the husband to go back upstairs and arrested the woman who was being abused. Arlet Macareno native language is spanish and couldn’t communicate to the police in english. Rather then the authorities providing translators and trying to understand the woman to their best capabilities, they mocked her and refused to help her. In an article written by Ashley Southall, she quotes Macareno by stating ''I knew I needed an interpreter and had a right to an interpreter,'' she said. ''I was denied the right to speak. I was denied to the right to express myself. I felt destroyed,'' she said in Spanish during an interview. (Southall, 2017). She then goes on to explain “Ms. Macareno, 30, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico, is hardly alone among women in New York who say they have tried to report abuse to the police only to be foiled by a persistent language barrier that critics say has devastating consequences for victims of domestic violence.” (Southhall, 2017). This statement goes to prove that authorities and our system truly don’t stand by these women and rather than helping victims of abuse, they ignore them. This doesn’t mean all authority figures treat victims of abuse like this however, this is decently recent case and I am sure Macareno isn’t the only woman who was stripped her rights. Although after this case, they tried to improve their help services the author mentions “Overall crime has declined in recent years, but domestic violence remains one of the most stubborn criminal justice problems, especially among immigrants, frustrating lawmakers, the police, prosecutors and advocates working to prevent intimate tensions from exploding into deadly violence.” If immigrant woman are continuously getting abused and authorities aren’t taking their language barrier into consideration, acts of abuse probably don’t go reported by immigrant women due to this amongst other matters. As a result, society need more services that help these women and make them feel safe from their abusive partner. According to research conducted by Rosa Marcia Vasconcellos, there is a high dissatisfaction level within the health care system in the states as well. She states “This dissatisfaction with the healthcare response to IPV is amplified among abused latina women, who usually encounter cultural and linguistic barriers when receiving medical treatment either in the emergency room or clinics” (Vasconcellos, 2005, page 5). This goes to further fortify the argument that language barriers can seriously limit an immigrant women in numerous ways.
It is important to note that abuse is not limited to a physical scale, abuse can affect people psychologically as well. This isn’t just applicable to immigrant women, all women who experience violence may experience psychological issues especially if they are continuously getting abused. For example, A common question many people ask women who have been abused is “why didn’t you just leave?”. Women who are in these partnerships have attempted to leave on multiple occasions, but unfortunately, the abuser holds more power. For that reason, it might be safer for them to stay. They fall into a cycle of abuse. As demonstrated by Walker (1979), battered women plan to leave the relationship, but eventually their abuser reconciles and gains back the trust of the abused. As time goes by, tension increases once again which later leads to the abuser lashing out once again. The women fall into the cycle of abuse because their abuser always finds a way to coerce them to stay due to their manipulation. As for immigrant women, they may stay because of all of these reasons. Women try to escape the violence but nothing helps the violence that they experience. An illusion of control is built therefore they believe that their abuse is a result of something that they did. They start believing that the abuse that they are experiencing is genuinely their fault. This cycle of abuse can psychologically affect the children as well. Growing up in a family where the mother is being abused can affect the child negatively in the sense that it indicates that the behaviour their father is inflicting upon their mother is behaviour that is encouraged. This can also emotionally traumatize them and lead into trust issues. The emotional trauma they experience as kids can be reflected in future relationships.
Many immigrant women stay in abusive relationships for the sake of their children. Although they are abused, they stay for the sake of their families.
She may stay because she’s willing to sacrifice her own safety for the well being of her children so they won’t have to grow up in poverty or without a father. Many women feel the need to stay because they have want their children to experience everything a happy full and complete family would.
While freshly entering a new country, individuals do not know much about their surroundings. Immigrant women may stay in an abusive relationship due to the sense of familiarity as opposed to simply not knowing. Of course while entering a new country, individuals don’t know much about the country therefore they cling to what may be familiar to them. With immigrant women and abuse, they might feel so disconnected with their surroundings that they cling on to their abusive partner because it gives them a sense of familiarity. Although this can be dangerous due to their partners intentions, they know what to expect. This is why it is important to have a solid group of individuals for emotional support. Social support is necessary when familiarizing oneself with a new place. On top of several other barriers such as the language barrier that was discussed above, these women are new to a country therefore knowing someone or groups of people is almost crucial to adjust fairly easily. In a study conducted by Clementine M. Msengi1, Helena Arthur-Okor1, Lorraine Killion, as well as Jennifer Schoer, they wanted to view the impact that social groups would have on women who newly immigrated to the United States. This was a study based off of an immigrant and refugees support group. The support group was called “The Women of Care Project” which was “designed to benefit immigrant and refugee women new to a community located in the Midwest region of the United States while offering longtime residents the unprecedented opportunity to meet and better understand these newcomers and their cultures.” (Msengil et al, 2015, page 3). Many women from different backgrounds were asked to participate in this study and the concept behind this project was “was built upon a support/educational group concept, providing a support network while helping immigrant women integrate and adapt to their new surroundings. The network also provided avenues for developing language skills and expanding educational and employment opportunities, empowering these women to become productive members of their communities.” (Msengil et al, 2015, page 3). The results suggest that there were benefits within these types of social groups. These results indicated that “The support groups also helped these women overcome some of the barriers they faced in the areas of language, culture, poverty, and discrimination, issues which made it very difficult for them to function competently in a new community. (Msengil et al, 2015, page 4). This study goes to prove that newly immigrants need support groups to adjust to a new country. They might find comfort knowing that women who also take part in these social support groups might be experiencing similar situations. Social support groups allow immigrant women to make new friends with individuals who are also new to the country. In relevance to abuse by their partners, these types of social support groups can be a source to help them escape that painful reality.
Lastly, the reason in which an immigrant women might stay in an abusive relationship could be tied back into cultural beliefs. Take for example, Arab immigrant women. In arab culture the women are much more restricted and limited in what they can or can’t do. This is because “A woman can bring shame to her family in many ways, including premarital sex, flirting, asking for divorce, challenging mens authority, criticizing her husband, and dressing provocatively, thereby belittling the family honor, which is vested in female sexual purity and subordination to male dominance (Glazer & Abu-Ras, 1994). Immigrant arab women are more likely to stay in abusive relationships because men are thought of more highly in arab culture. The concept of standing by your man through thick and thin is an ideology they were taught at a young age. This is why “Many Arab women remain in abusive marriages rather than face the consequences of such socially unacceptable dishonors as asking for a divorce or violating family privacy by seeking help, which may actually precipitate violence.” (Abu-Ras, 2007, page 1003)
To conclude, there are many reasons in which immigrant women may feel forced to stay in an abusive relationship. The topic of immigrant women and abuse continues to be a difficult one due to all the barriers and factors that contribute to it. This is due to power of the abuser, their citizenship status, financial stability and the lack of opportunity out there catered to them, the language barrier, the psychological aspect, the sense of familiarity versus the unknown, as well as their cultural values and beliefs. All of these factors reveal how truly unfair it is for immigrant women who are abused because of they have so many obstacles to overcome. These women are at a disadvantage not only because they are women, but also because they are women who have immigrated from a different country hence why it is important for our society to continue in developing more and more social services to help build them up during these tough times. It is important to keep in mind that it is hard being a woman who is getting abused but it is even harder being an immigrant women being continuously abused.