Intimate Partner Violence Among Older Portuguese Immigrant Women in Canada

One third of the immigrant population around the world is made up of women. Of these women, many belong to the Portuguese community. Immigrants account for more than one in five Canadians. The Portuguese older immigrant women living in Canada are vulnerable to be victims of intimate partner violence (IPV), which is a prevalent and important global health issue that affects differently diverse groups. There are few available researches regarding IPV on this population. The objective of this study is to understand how Portuguese older immigrant women living in Canada experience IPV. This is a qualitative study with a social phenomenological focus. Alfred Schutz’s motivation theory was used to analyze the impulses that led older women to face IPV. The data were collected from July to October 2013 in the Greater Toronto Area. Ten women 60 years or older were included in the study. The participants perceived themselves as being victimized by their current or ex partners. They are unhappy and suffer from a variety of health problems, which they related to their experience of IPV. These factors, along with participants’ personal beliefs, and their legal situations as immigrants in Canada, made them act, either in a way that would try to maintain their relationships, or tried to escape the violent situation. IPV is a complex phenomenon, with different perceptions surrounding it. The experiences of the older immigrant women showed that ending the marriage is not always a possibility to them because of cultural issues and their immigrant status in Canada. Some women wish help and support to improve their relationships.

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Social support needs and help seeking behaviours among Spanish-speaking Canadian immigrant women who have experienced intimate partner violence (IPV)

10.32920/ryerson.14666898.v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Angela Cerdena D’Unian

Keyword(s):

Social Support ◽

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Immigrant Women ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Future Research ◽

Spanish Speaking ◽

Greater Toronto Area ◽

Sources Of Support

There is considerable research about women who have experienced Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in the Canadian literature. However, most of these studies have focused on IPV among Canadian-born women. Immigrant women who make the decision to seek help for IPV have received less attention in the research-based literature in Canada. This qualitative study examined the IPV experiences of 10 Spanish-speaking immigrant women in Canada, all from the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). The main focus was to examine the intersectionality between social support and help seeking behaviours for IPV. Results indicated that Spanish-speaking immigrants in Canada utilized both formal and informal sources of support for IPV. The importance of continuous support as a factor preventing women from returning to an abusive relationship was consistently reported by participants. Implications of the study findings and directions for future research are further discussed in this manuscript.

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New lives, new challenges: access to intimate partner violence services for portuguese-speaking immigrant women

Revista Eletrônica de Enfermagem ◽

10.5216/ree.v21.55653 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 21 ◽

Author(s):

Sepali Guruge ◽

Margareth S. Zanchetta ◽

Brenda Roche ◽

Stephanie Pedrotti Lucchese

Keyword(s):

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Help Seeking ◽

Immigrant Women ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Pathways To Care ◽

Structural Barriers ◽

Group Discussions ◽

Global Health Issue ◽

Seeking Help

Intimate partner violence is a global health issue and the most common form of violence experienced by women. This study explored barriers to accessing help to Intimate partner violence related health services among Portuguese-speaking immigrant women in Toronto, Canada. Exploratory study conducted by a survey and focus group discussions with 12 Portuguese-speaking immigrant women. Results clarify the struggles faced by Portuguese-speaking immigrant women and their pathways to care and help-seeking. Participants reported that the fear of being deported, obtaining evidence of abuse, and lack of language-specific services were the key barriers to seeking help. When available, language-specific community-based services, along with faith and religion, were noted as key factors that supported women’s resilience. Nurses who provide care and services to women who are dealing with Intimate partner violence should rethink the scope of their advocacy actions toward addressing these structural barriers by building alliances with organizations to better serve and protect women in such vulnerable situations.

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Conducting Intervention Research With Immigrant Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence: Barriers and Facilitators of Recruitment and Retention

Journal of Interpersonal Violence ◽

10.1177/08862605211035866 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 088626052110358

Author(s):

Bushra Sabri ◽

Jennifer Lee ◽

Jyoti Saha

Keyword(s):

Domestic Violence ◽

Intimate Partner Violence ◽

Partner Violence ◽

Immigrant Women ◽

Intimate Partner ◽

Intervention Research ◽

Recruitment And Retention ◽

Emotional Strain ◽

Diverse Groups ◽

Domestic Violence Organizations

Research is needed to support culturally informed interventions for diverse groups of survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV), such as immigrant women. Researchers, however, often face numerous barriers in recruiting and retaining immigrant survivors of IPV in intervention research. This qualitative study explored strategies to enhance recruitment and retention of immigrant survivors of IPV in intervention research from the perspective of immigrant survivors of IPV and providers serving immigrant women. Forty-six in-depth interviews were conducted with diverse groups of immigrant women (Africans, Asians, and Latinas) and 17 key informant interviews were conducted with providers serving immigrant women. The interviews focused on perceived facilitators and barriers to recruitment and retention including strategies to form partnerships with domestic violence organizations. Data were analyzed using systematic inductive thematic analysis. Participants identified barriers to recruitment such as fear of being judged, lack of familiarity with the recruiter, normalcy of abuse in some cultures, undocumented status, and fear related to legal implications of reporting IPV. Barriers to study retention included lack of motivation, time burden related to study participation, and emotional strain with recounting abuse experience. Participants also shared strategies to facilitate recruitment and retention such as engaging with the community, forming partnerships with domestic violence organizations, using recruiters with similar background and experiences as potential participants, using snowball sampling strategies, recruiting in locations frequently visited by immigrant survivors, providing adequate incentives, ensuring confidentiality, educating survivors about IPV, and conducting periodic check-ins throughout the study period. Findings can be useful for researchers conducting intervention studies with immigrant survivors of IPV.

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