scholarly journals Violence against Afghan immigrant women in Canada: cultural influences in help-seeking behaviours

Author(s):  
Mushtari Ahmed

There have been studies on abuse against immigrant women, in spousal relationships. There is also literature on state violence against women in Afghanistan. Research to date has shown that there are various structural and cultural barriers affecting the help-seeking behaviours of many immigrant women subjected to spousal abuse. If Afghan culture is preserved in Canada, then, along with potential barriers that exist as immigrants, many of these women are constrained to seek help because of cultural barriers. This issue is important to address in order to make awareness of the phenomenon. My research question is: How does culture influence abused Afghan immigrant women's help-seeking behaviours in Canada? Interviews with service providers in the Afghan community were conducted to explore explanations for the victims’ behaviours. Much of the findings were in keeping with past research related to immigrant women's lives. However, this study is unique given the group in question. I conclude that patriarchal practices rather than cultural essentialism explain the phenomenon of violence and help-seeking behaviours.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mushtari Ahmed

There have been studies on abuse against immigrant women, in spousal relationships. There is also literature on state violence against women in Afghanistan. Research to date has shown that there are various structural and cultural barriers affecting the help-seeking behaviours of many immigrant women subjected to spousal abuse. If Afghan culture is preserved in Canada, then, along with potential barriers that exist as immigrants, many of these women are constrained to seek help because of cultural barriers. This issue is important to address in order to make awareness of the phenomenon. My research question is: How does culture influence abused Afghan immigrant women's help-seeking behaviours in Canada? Interviews with service providers in the Afghan community were conducted to explore explanations for the victims’ behaviours. Much of the findings were in keeping with past research related to immigrant women's lives. However, this study is unique given the group in question. I conclude that patriarchal practices rather than cultural essentialism explain the phenomenon of violence and help-seeking behaviours.


2020 ◽  
pp. VV-D-19-00129
Author(s):  
Wai Hung Wallace Tsang ◽  
T. M. Simon Chan ◽  
Monit Cheung

Intimate partner violence (IPV) literature has addressed differential socialization for designing interventions, mainly helping female victims and male perpetrators. From a gender-specific perspective, this study examines the abused men's postponed decisions to disclose victimization or seek help. Through individual interviews, 10 Chinese male IPV survivors in Hong Kong described their help-seeking journey. A three-pillar approach is applied to guide the analysis in terms of psychological factors, cultural barriers, and decisional challenges when men are seeking help. Results reveal negative influences bearing on male survivors' help-seeking behaviors and support how men can rebuild positive personal strengths after experiencing the impact of abuse on oneself and the family. Service providers must identify barriers of delayed help-seeking decisions and treat IPV survivors with respect and acceptance to facilitate abuse disclosure.


Author(s):  
Nicola Sheeran ◽  
Laura Tarzia ◽  
Heather Douglas

Abstract The current study explored the language barriers to help-seeking in the context of reproductive coercion and abuse (RCA), domestic and family violence (DFV), and sexual violence (SV), drawing on observations by key informants supporting women from migrant and refugee communities. A lack of shared language has been identified as a key barrier to help seeking for migrant and refugee women experiencing DFV more broadly, though how language intersects with help seeking in the context of RCA is yet to be investigated. We conducted 6 focus groups with 38 lawyers, counsellors, and social workers supporting women experiencing DFV in Brisbane and Melbourne, Australia. Our findings address two main areas. First, consistent with past research in DFV, our participants identified language as a barrier for women when communicating about sexual and reproductive issues in the context of health and police encounters. More specifically, our findings suggest that the inability of health professionals and police to communicate with women who have low or no English proficiency not only negatively impacted victims/survivors’ ability to access support, but also facilitated the perpetration of RCA. We conclude that language can be a mechanism through which coercive control is enacted by perpetrators of RCA and health and policing systems may not be equipped to recognise and address this issue. We also suggest that greater conceptual clarity of RCA is needed within the DFV sector in order to tailor responses.


A growing body of research finds that upward of half of transgender people experience intimate partner violence (IPV)—psychological, physical, or sexual abuse in romantic and sexual relationships—in their lifetimes, and consequences can be severe. Despite this, the movement to end IPV has focused almost exclusively on cisgender individuals, resulting in many transgender IPV (T-IPV) survivors being underserved and overlooked by the very laws and victim agencies tasked with protecting survivors. Research has illuminated a variety of unique aspects of T-IPV regarding the predictors of perpetration, the specific forms of abuse experienced, barriers to help seeking for survivors, and policy and intervention needs. As the first of its kind, this volume brings together leading T-IPV researchers and service providers to offer a comprehensive overview of past research and identify evidence-based strategies to foster systemic change in how transgender abuse is addressed in our policies and services. First the volume details known patterns of transgender abuse and examines, through an intersectional framework, the myriad ways in which discrimination and social inequality promote and enhance T-IPV. Second, the volume discusses how transphobia and cisnormativity impact the causes of T-IPV, survivor resiliency, and help seeking. Third, the volume reviews and critiques existing practices in how health care, shelters, policing, and the legal system intervene in T-IPV. The volume concludes with recommendations for transforming public health prevention, service provision, and research to ultimately build a safer and more inclusive world for transgender communities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 197-218
Author(s):  
Elaina M. Ross ◽  
Jeffrey A. Hall

AbstractTo account for sex differences in the production, receptivity, and preference for humor in potential mates during courtship, past research has often adopted an evolutionary approach. The present manuscript will attempt to integrate evolutionary explanations with proximal social and cultural influences using the traditional sexual script and ambivalent sexism theory. The results of both Study 1 (N=227) and Study 2 (N=424) suggest that trait masculinity is positively associated with humor production in courtship, while trait femininity is associated with humor receptivity. Study 1 indicated that the traditional flirting style was associated with less humor production by women, and Study 2 indicated that hostile sexism was related to a lower preference for a humor-producing potential partner by men. A sex difference in humor production in potential partners in Study 2 was no longer detectable once trait gender and hostile sexism was accounted for. Taken together, gender roles, over and above biological sex, influence one’s own humor use in courtship and preference for humor in potential partners.


2021 ◽  
pp. 136700692199945
Author(s):  
Amy Louise Schwarz ◽  
Maria Resendiz ◽  
Laura Catarina Herrera ◽  
Maria Diana Gonzales

Aims and objectives/purpose/research questions: Speech–language pathologists who speak more than one language and who are members of the American Speech–Language–Hearing Association self-identify in one yes/no question whether they have the proficiency level to be bilingual service providers. This research note describes a preliminary attempt to address the very practical issue of whether and in what circumstances Spanish–English bilinguals can accurately judge their proficiency levels in both languages. The research question is: Will bilingual adults accurately identify their first language and second language proficiency levels using a self-assessment when compared to a commonly used standardized norm-referenced test (SNRT) in both formal and informal contexts across the following outcome measures: (a) overall proficiency; (b) listening; (c) speaking; (d) reading; and (e) writing? Design/methodology/approach: Classification accuracy studies require at least 34 participants. Thirty-nine participants completed the commonly used Language Use Questionnaire (LUQ) self-assessment and the commonly used Woodcock–Muñoz Language Survey SNRT (WMLS-III). For this pre-pilot study, participants were Spanish–English bilingual university students. Data and analysis: Forty likelihood ratios (LRs) were calculated. Benchmarks for interpreting LRs for classification accuracy studies were applied to identify the likelihood of an individual being proficient or non-proficient in two languages. Findings/conclusions: For the overall proficiency and formal speaking proficiency outcomes in Spanish, positive LRs met the benchmark for strong agreement. Originality: The current study is the first to show that Spanish–English bilingual adults can accurately judge their Spanish proficiency levels for two specific outcome measures. Significance/implications: These results are important for two reasons. First, they suggest that Spanish–English bilingual adults can accurately judge their overall proficiency levels in Spanish. Second, they identify which outcome measures from the LUQ and WMLS-III should be considered in a future classification accuracy study.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 315
Author(s):  
Malte Schäfer ◽  
Manuel Löwer

With the intent of summing up the past research on ecodesign and making it more accessible, we gather findings from 106 existing review articles in this field. Five research questions on terminology, evolution, barriers and success factors, methods and tools, and synergies, guide the clustering of the resulting 608 statements extracted from the reference. The quantitative analysis reveals that the number of review articles has been increasing over time. Furthermore, most statements originate from Europe, are published in journals, and address barriers and success factors. For the qualitative analysis, the findings are grouped according to the research question they address. We find that several names for similar concepts exist, with ecodesign being the most popular one. It has evolved from “end-of-pipe” pollution prevention to a more systemic concept, and addresses the complete life cycle. Barriers and success factors extend beyond the product development team to management, customers, policymakers, and educators. The number of ecodesign methods and tools available to address them is large, and more reviewing, testing, validation, and categorization of the existing ones is necessary. Synergies between ecodesign and other research disciplines exist in theory, but require implementation and testing in practice.


Author(s):  
Bukola Salami ◽  
Alleson Mason ◽  
Jordana Salma ◽  
Sophie Yohani ◽  
Maryam Amin ◽  
...  

Immigrants experience poorer health outcomes than nonimmigrants in Canada for several reasons. A central contributing factor to poor health outcomes for immigrants is access to healthcare. Previous research on access to healthcare for immigrants has largely focused on the experience of immigrant adults. The purpose of this study was to investigate how immigrants access health services for their children in Alberta, Canada. Our study involved a descriptive qualitative design. Upon receiving ethics approval from the University of Alberta Research Ethics Board, we invited immigrant parents to participate in this study. We interviewed 50 immigrant parents, including 17 fathers and 33 mothers. Interviews were audio recorded, transcribed, and analyzed according to the themes that emerged. Findings reveal that systemic barriers contributed to challenges in accessing healthcare for immigrant children. Participants identified several of these barriers—namely, system barriers, language and cultural barriers, relationship with health professionals, and financial barriers. These barriers can be addressed by policymakers and service providers by strengthening the diversity of the workforce, addressing income as a social determinant of health, and improving access to language interpretation services.


Author(s):  
Minna Anneli Sorsa ◽  
Jari Kylmä ◽  
Terese Elisabet Bondas

Perinatal psychological distress (PPD) may cause delays in help-seeking in the perinatal period, which is crucial for families with small children. Help-seeking theories focus on rational processes of behavior wherein ‘help-seeking’ is viewed as a decision-making process, in which action is preceded by recognizing a problem. We identified the phase prior to actual help-seeking actions as a life situation and a phenomenon through which to gain a deeper understanding from women’s own perspectives. The aim of this study was to integrate and synthesize knowledge of women’s experiences of contemplating seeking help for PPD. We chose interpretative meta-ethnography by Noblit and Hare (1988) and implemented eMERGe guidelines in reporting. The search was performed systematically, and the 14 included studies were evaluated with Critical Appraisal Skills Programme checklist (CASP). We identified seven themes and a metaphor in a lines-of-argument synthesis, showing that contemplating help-seeking is a multidimensional phenomenon. We did not observe a straightforward and linear process (as previous research suggests) but instead a complex process of contemplating help-seeking. A clinical implication is that service providers should work with outreach and develop their tools to connect with mothers with PPD. Another suggestion is to improve training in mental health literacy prior to or during pregnancy.


2020 ◽  
Vol 122 (10) ◽  
pp. 1-40
Author(s):  
Maggie Quinn Hannan ◽  
Jennifer Lin Russell

Background/Context The literature shows that one constant in coaching is the high degree of variation in coach roles and contexts, suggesting that understanding coaching practice requires that we also understand the role structures and organizational conditions that shape coaches’ work. Research on both instructional coaching and instructional change is increasingly attending to the organizational and social factors that shape, facilitate, and constrain the web of interactions that coaching work comprises. Past research points to the complex systems and social networks that shape critical elements of coaching practice, emphasizing the interdependency of organizational processes and the critical importance of considering not only the outcomes of implementation, but also the contextual factors that shape them. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study Given that multilayered social, technical, and organizational factors shape the practice and impact of instructional coaching, understanding the combinations of factors that are most consequential is key for both policy implementation and instructional coaching research. Consequently, understanding coaching requires attending to specific practices, the structural contexts in which those practices are embedded, and varied implementation processes across system levels and diverse school districts. Therefore, we built this study on the foundational idea that coaching work inherently and continuously interacts with the complex systems in which it takes place and that understanding and analyzing coaching requires attending to the organizational and social structures that shape it. Accordingly, this article focuses on the following research question: What contextual conditions facilitate and constrain coaching, and why? Research Design To understand the interactions between coaching work and these many social and technical factors, we investigated how a group of coaches implemented a mathematics coaching model, focusing specifically on the relationship between coaching contexts and coaching practice. Our case-focused, mixed-methods approach, which included both qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) and case-study methods, allowed us to explore the interrelationships between coaching and the system conditions that shape, enable, and constrain instructional change. Conclusions/Recommendations Our findings support the argument that coaching cannot be extricated from the surrounding system factors that shape it. On the contrary, we found that supports for and barriers to robust coaching practice are context-specific phenomena, suggesting that any coaching intervention ought to be tailored to its specific organizational location. Accordingly, we argue that different combinations of contributing factors can affect coaching in different ways, thereby contributing to the theory that a nested-systems perspective on instructional coaching is key to understanding its effects.


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