Domestic Violence against Immigrant Women in Australia - Case Study Example

SOCIAL MARKETING ISSUE: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST IMMIGRANT WOMEN IN AUSTRALIA By Student’s Name Code + Course Name Professor’s Name University Cite, State Date Part 1: Social Issue Introduction The recent studies indicating a higher prevalence in wife battering cases and its failure to get way into official reports amongst the immigrant women in Australia has bore intensive levels of debates to many people across Australia. Fundamental literature reviews on immediate attitudes associated with wife battering in the course of 1980s indicated that immigrant women battered women were indeed disadvantaged through aspects related to isolation, indigenous cultural values as well as a lack of shelter to guarantee them of their respective cultural needs. In fact, other researchers have continuously noted the invisibility immigrant women of violence are subjected to in their respective homes. A recent study conducted by the Victorian Community Council Against Violence concluded that at least 70% of women with non-English speaking backgrounds that were interviewed had little or no knowledge related to the Australian law that protects them against violence (Mouzos, & Makkai, 2004). The information gap has led to minimal likelihood of ever escaping from the violent-related conditions and thus, helps expound on why a substantial number of immigrant women killed by their respective husbands were born out of the country. The focus of this paper is to provide a literature review on the level of violence subjected against immigrant women in Australia. Literature Review Easteal(1996, p.26) argues that the concealed nature of violence against women as a whole and the possibility of the aspect being hidden to a greater extent amongst the migrant communities has contributed to the little level of empirical evidence drawn together to substantiate these distress. The article presents a research study in order to enlighten the entire public on this crucial subject. The study collects information from both survivors of domestic violence as well as numerous practitioners that have always been in contact with this affected group (Easteal, 1996). A total of two surveys were utilised in order to access the immediate backgrounds and experiences of at least 800 violence victims who included women from non-English speaking backgrounds and native Australian-born women. Breunig, Hasan and Salehin (2013, p.498-500)found out that immigrant battered women were more likely to receive assistance in such areas as legal aid firms and ethnic welfare services as opposed to police points. This development indicates that the victims are less likely to seek police assistance as a viable option. In essence, information from the study indicates that most of the immigrants’ women suffered knowledge drain in aspects related to legal and refugee services. In fact, it is noted that the perpetrators of this form of violence against immigrant women constituted partner that had accompanied them, a member of her immediate ethnic background that she met in Australia, native Australian male or even an immigrant from other ethnic and country. Samples collected from the police, refugee camps and legal aid agencies were mainly composed of couples sharing the same ethnic background. Asian women that were mainly sponsored by non-Asian partners contributed to the majority of the exception in the study (Breunig, Hasan, & Salehin, 2013). The domestic violence victims and the immediate practitioners that worked with them ascertained that the migration experience was the major contributing factor to the abuse witnessed at their homes. Conversely, each of the victims in the interview that migrated with their partners indicated that the very onset of abuse had come before the migration. Information from the survey interview postulated that for many of these victims, domestic violence was not directly related to the movement to Australia but rather happened even in their homelands, where wife abuse was the norm of the day. Easteal (1996, p.26) notes that survivors and practitioners indicated that the ever changing gender roles in Australia, first-degree isolation, the lack of support, language barriers as well as the downward mobility structures as being the immediate contributory factors to the level of violence. Research indicates that it is a challenge to estimate the level of extent of overall domestic violence since there is seems to little or no suitable amount of informational data. Phone-surveys have always been limited by self-report statuses of the victims while statistics collected by such agencies as police, legal aid and refugee camps are always fragmented. Moreover, it is stated that such agency statistics are only inclined towards the people that choose to receive attention from the agencies. In Australia, it is known that the nuclear family can always be exposed to higher level of stress as conventional roles shift (Raj & Silverman, 2003). The linkage that arises as a result of unemployment or underemployment for men, paid employment for women as well as the incorporation of the younger people might go a long way to disrupt the hierarchies that are solely based on such aspects as age and sex. For instance, in the Laotian and Khmer traditional way of living, women are expected to remain at home and thus, spend their time caring for their immediate husbands and children, which might pose a challenge in the Australian setting (Raj & Silverman, 2003). The way of life in Australia is portrayed by imminent learning to sustain activities without ever relying on family ties especially for all Asian women that are sponsored by non-Asian men. Women that were brought into Australia in order to get married by people from their relative cultural background and a permanent citizen of the country were greatly exposed to elements of isolation and thus, they were noted to be the most vulnerable group by the practitioners (Easteal, 1996). The abuse was perpetrated mostly by both the partner and his immediate extended family members. For example, the interviewed Turkish brides indicated that they did not have any form of relative in Australia and their respective parents had put trust of taking care of them to the groom’s family members, who went ahead to betray the trust either through overt abuse or by maintaining silence on the treatment they received (Raj & Silverman, 2003). Ruziye, one of the Turkish brides, says that her husband’s family imposed curfew on her and made everything so difficult for her. She continues to indicate that she was not allowed to watch television or even listen to radio. Subsequently, she was not allowed any form of shopping, which left her hungry for a substantial number of days; kept her in isolation (Easteal, 1996). In another almost similar story, Safia who happened to be a migrant in Australia had her marriage arranged to a partner she never knew or even met. Their marriage lasted for a period of about 10 years; for which during this period, she was lead a life of a prisoner so that she could never leave her house without the husband or his consent (Easteal, 1996). As a way of ensuring that Safia had not moved out of the house, the husband would place a stone on the security door whenever he left each morning for work. In case the stone fell, he would know that Safia had moved out of the house without his consent (Easteal, 1996). She was not allowed any money, means of communication or even allowed to open the door lest she ran away. The husband is said to have beaten her in most of the times claiming that women were created for men’s pleasure, which prompted her to leave the home with her child. The decision to leave resulted to her being despised by both her family and extended community members at large and even suffered the guilt-conscious of lessening her elder sister’s marriage expectations (Easteal, 1996). She later noted the level of isolation she had been subjected to after abandoning her husband when she failed to establish the cost of a loaf of bread. Shattered Dreams-Marital Violence Against Overseas-Born Women in Australia, is a book by Patricia Easteal that fairly puts up a distinctive description of about 21 immigrant women survivors from domestic violence by evaluating survey data that is sourced from such reliable points as police stations, legal aid agencies and also, specific ethnic welfare agencies. The book does not solely postulate that domestic violence as being inclined strongly in immigrant women but rather it portrays that elements attributed to ethnicity or the migration experience goes a long way to contribute to abuse in their homes. The book indicates that immigrant women that had enjoyed sponsorship from non-Asian partners possessed little or no level of knowledge of their immediate rights, which prompted their husbands to maximise on this informational gap to control, threaten and beat their wives as well as preventing them from possibility of leaving them. Easteal (1996, p. 28) indicates that the manifestations of domestic violence against immigrant women as put forth by both the women victims and the practitioners were physical, emotional and even economical in nature. In this regard, emotional abuse that is solely based on corrosion of such important human being attributes as self-esteem and seclusion of these victims is indeed severe and easily finds its way into the immigrant women due to increased level of isolation. A South Australian legal practitioner involved in the study indicated that language and cultural barricade facilitated the inability to access and comprehends relevant information on their rights as immigrants and thus, underpinned greatly to higher level of fear, hopelessness as well as isolation amongst these victims (Easteal, 1996). Subjection to financial abuse, like the denial of food and clothing is deemed to be more popular amongst the migrant communities especially whenever the women lacked substantial and relevant knowledge regarding government based allowances. The research study ascertains that in most of the cases, immigrant victims did not comprehend their respective rights to such important aides as family allowance programs or social security payment. In actual fact, their immediate partners enjoyed sole control of these finances and did not allow their partners any money (Cook, David, & Grant, 2001). One of the multicultural welfare agencies in NSW, involved in the study indicated that all women who had little or no knowledge in speaking English lacked confidence needed to abandon their partners and husbands. This is because they always depend on them for finances and are not aware of the immediate rights. They did not comprehend that they could access financial assistance from the Department of Social Security. A significant section of the victims indicated that they faced sexual abuse by their partners. Most of them indicated that the assault was a continuous happening in their marital relationship and thus, it was considered a normal phenomenon. Noraika, who happened to be a victim from Malaysia, indicated that she was, in most occasions, molested by husband but lacked knowledge to understand that since she was married. Research indicates that alcohol was one of the sole causal factors to domestic violence against immigrant women (Easteal, 1996). In effect, the study found out that at least more than half of the perpetrators that came in contact with some form of assistance like police and legal aid were greatly affected by alcoholism. However, for Asian victims, the perpetrators and victims were considered to be sober in the course of executing violence acts. More than 40 per cent of the refugee victims interviewed indicates that alcohol was the sole cause of their husband’s violent deeds towards them (Easteal, 1996). A Greek victim indicated that her husband would often came back home with friends drunk and continue drinking into the night while still being abusive even in their presence and later bit her whenever she confronted him. The study noted that it was not only the unemployed partners that subjected their wives to violence acts although most of the victims blamed unemployment of their husbands as a contributory factor. There are extensive levels of costs that are associated with domestic violence against immigrant women in Australia. Individuals and family members are exposed to devastating consequences, which in turn pose a great deal of risk to their immediate physical and psychological health. Considering the fact that the propensity to engage in domestic violence against these women from non-English speaking backgrounds within homes seems to be passed from one generation to another, it thus means that the challenge is indeed compounded. The effects of the vice in relation to health, welfare situations as well as criminal justice stipulation are deemed to be on downward trend. In the period between 1980s and 2010, the refuge funding in Australia has grown tenfold. Until recently, the issue of immigrant women being subjected to intensive domestic violence has not received any form of attention. Posselt (2005, p. 245-250) most Australian communities do not deem the violence acts as being any crucial aspect for discussion. Research surveys conducted to a greater majority of these communities indicate that domestic violence towards this marginalised group is indeed a private affair and thus, it should be handled within the family circles alone. Unfortunately, most of the Australians hold firm beliefs about ensuring the privacy of family ties and the immediate values of not getting into the affairs of others, which has vehemently resulted to challenges that should be addressed in order to prevent possible domestic violence against women. Surveys conducted to analyse the issue indicates that a greater section of the Australian public were of the view that violence against a person’s wife was justifiable under specific situations. About 19 per cent of the participants in the survey indicated that it was acceptable for a husband to use physical force against their women under certain situations (ABS, 2004). Regardless of the nature of employment-whether blue or white collar jobs- it was found out those men always battered their wives and perceived physical force as a remedy for challenges in immigrant marriages. According to Tjaden (2005, p.219-222) notes that domestic violence directed towards immigrant women happens on a continuous-basis and starts with both emotional and verbal assault and later ends with possible murder. Thus, the earlier the women in question seek help; the lesser their likelihood of ending up dead. For those women that emanate from a given cultural background and trapped by low-self esteem, lack sufficient skills and information for self-support, possible escape from their partners might prove a burden. In truth, those that cannot speak English are put under jeopardy because they will not easily access appropriate support. An English-speaking immigrant woman on the other hand will be faced with such challenges as finding suitable legal aid agencies to support her quest for freedom. To sum up the discussion above, it can be noted that immigrant women are subjected to intense levels of violence because they lack sufficient knowledge and information on possible support groups. They are also faced with the language barrier so that they cannot easily expound on the issues affecting them to relevant authorities. Subsequently, because they depend on their partners for financial assistance it is a challenge for them to abandon their homes and as a result; they end up suffering emotional and sexual assault in silence. Part 2: Social Marketing Plan Problem Description Recent studies indicate that there have been increased incidences of wife battering as the non-reporting of the violence acts amongst immigrant women remain a matter of concern. Numerous researches postulate that most of these immigrant women are exposed to battering acts by their partners and husbands and continue to undergo the act through isolation, subjection to indigenous cultural values as well as a lack of protection agency meant to oversee their indigenous cultural perspectives (Mouzos, & Makkai, 2004). The increase in the level of these violence acts is highly attributed to the fact that at least 70% or so of these non-English speaking women lack knowledge needed for comprehending their immediate rights against possible domestic violence (Easteal, 1996). In effect, the lack of relevant knowledge amongst the group explains why there has been little or no escape from violent related acts as well as the higher numbers of immigrant killed by their husbands over time. Wife battering, and especially amongst the immigrant women in Australia, remain to be disguise in reality. These immigrant women are subjected to intense level of domestic violence, deprivation of such other rights as food and clothing as well as undergo intensive financial and sexual assaults without their consent (Easteal, 1996). Financial abuse, occurs because they are only dependent on their partners for all of their needs. They are subjected to limited finances in order to curtail their movements lest they abandon their homes altogether. Sexual assault occurs whenever they are forced into sexual activities without their consent. It also involves being subjected to barbaric sexual acts (Easteal, 1996). It is ascertained that the lack of any positive move to put a halt into this level of suffering is greatly attributed to the cultural slavery, lack of useful information pertaining to legit legal aid agencies like welfare agencies as well as language barriers. As a result, these women suffer a lot due to limited assistance allowed to them. Causes/ Contributory Factors of Violence against Immigrant Women in Australia Most of the immigrant women interviewed indicated that at least 50% of the perpetrators of the domestic violence were directly affected by alcohol. In essence, 40% of the refugee residents were of the opinion that the alcohol had greatly contributed to their husband’s violent deeds. In regards to the data received as a result of police calls, information on the perpetrators’ employment status indicated that at least 75% of them were unemployed while of this percentage, 45% were unemployed for a longer period (Easteal, 1996). Information data accessed through Legal Aid agencies indicated that at least 45% of the perpetrators of the violence offences were employed. In refugee sample data, at least 25% of the perpetrators were either involved in professional or self-employment through small and medium sized businesses. Notably, many of the victims that survived the ordeal indicated that they thought their immigrant statuses was one of the key variables that contributed to subjection to domestic violence. Another important causal factor for the violence emanated from the fact that normative wife abuse was allowed in most of the non-English speaking cultural backgrounds, family privacy on such matters, significant level of changes in gender roles in the modern Australian society, acts of isolation, immediate lack of personal support as well as having higher expectations that were not met (Easteal, 1996). Choices of Appropriate Theories to Address the Issues One of the appropriate theories that could help expound the issue at hand rests with the Transtheoritical/Stages of Change Model (TTM). The theory was formulated from a distinctive evaluation of psychotherapy and behavioural change activities. It is solely based on the fact that people will always utilise a great number of other concepts in order to come up with effective decisions (Andreasen, 1994). In consequence, TTM postulates that people will tend to progress distinctive phases before they can actually take actions and sustain some new behavioural activities (Andreasen, 1994). For the case at hand, it can related to how the immigrant women exposed to domestic violence can opt to take relatively manageable steps before they can actually abandon their abusive partners and husbands. The phases that these individuals can employ include; the pre-contemplation phase, which is characterised by the fact that there might not be substantial knowledge and plans to take action because they do not seem to perceive the existence of the problem at hand (Brenkert, 2002). This can be fairly expounded on immigrant women who have been made to believe that wife battering is a normative activity that some cultures accept wholeheartedly. The second stage involves the contemplation phase where the victims can now think of taking necessary actions like abandoning their partners. The phase is triggered by access to relevant knowledge and legal support from cultural welfare groups. The third stage involves preparation where the immigrant women subjected to violence have now opted to take tangible steps towards the action. This might involve engaging in aggressive support campaigns in order to ascertain of their future without their abusive partners. The fourth stage; action phase, is when these victims have opted out of the abusive relationships and marriages for a period of less than 6 months. At this stage, these victims are perceived to be still recovering from the violence ordeal. The last phase is the maintenance stage, which is characterised by the victims showing the ability to sustain their new life for a period that exceeds 6 months (Helmig, & Thaler, 2010). At this stage, these victims seem to have moved on with their lives and have opted to live in free-world rather than in a cultural-abusive marriages and unions. It is important to understand that the objectives of interventions formulated from the theory are meant to assist individuals to progress through the aforementioned stages in a more gradual manner. For instance, the immigrant women subjected to domestic violence deeds can be helped to move forward through being assigned to relevant social group programs and campaigns. The process of change to a more fair life is explained by 10 constructs under this model; which includes; consciousness raising where the victims can be allowed to learn more on the effects of staying put in abusive marriages; dramatic relief, where knowledge is impacted to uphold their experiences towards relative fear and anxiety over the immediate level of risks associated with being abused for longer periods and also, self-liberation where the affected victims are allowed an opportunity to commit to change their perception towards abusive marriages (Helmig & Thaler, 2010). Another important theory that can be employed to expound on the issue at hand lies in information processing paradigm. The model is fairly inclined towards impacting a certain level of persuasive communication to the affected victims, which can be presented as a section of a marketing campaign in order to increase the awareness of the current level of domestic violence directed towards women from non-English speaking countries or those that have been born overseas (Newton-Ward, 2007). The theory ensures that information relating to healthy relationships are passed and processed through both formal and informal ways (Newton-Ward, 2007). The sharing of information is done through emphasizing the attention of the message, understanding capacity of the abusive relationships as well as the acceptance of the content at hand. Social support theory can be used also by incorporating certain distinctive interventions in order to promote defence mechanisms against violence (Newton-Ward, 2007). Social support can be attained through instrumental, information and emotional appraisals of the victims. Target Marketing, Segmentation & Branding Primary Targets: Immigrant women in abusive relationships and marriages from Asian and Turkish ethnic groups. Secondary Targets: parents to these immigrant women, close relatives. The most affected groups are the Turkish and Asian immigrant women. They also form those that are willing and able to change their immediate way of abusive life as wives and partners. The practitioners, police, legal aid agencies and cultural welfare agencies are deemed to be the most viable options of parties that can help change the situations at hand. Cultural welfare agencies and legal aids, as opposed to police calls, are fairly positioned to reach these immigrant women on a much more regular basis and thus, help to foster needed changes in the way they perceive abusive relationships and marriages (Newton-Ward, 2007). This level of intervention will help provide a substantial body of knowledge necessary to enlighten these victims on their immediate rights as immigrants in Australia as well as provide financial assistance. Branding can be achieved through media campaigns with catchy phrases that are meant to create awareness towards this minority group (Newton-Ward, 2007). It can also be done through calling for donations to provide financial assistance. Campaigns against sexual assaults in general can help create awareness to the people on the need to shun such evils in the society. Social Marketing Environment, Upstream and Policy Issues; Recommendations First, education should be focused on ethnic communities in order to enlighten them on the nature of domestic violence against women. All women should know their financial rights in Australia, possible non-acceptance of education and training as well as unemployment should be fairly addressed in order to increase work opportunities for those who come into Australia. Secondly, despite most of the Australians postulating that wife battering is allowed under certain circumstances, the Australian legislature should treat domestic violence as criminal law and its perpetrators subjected in a similar as those that engage in non-domestic crimes. Thirdly, there should be information access to immigrant women in order to allow them comprehend their rights as well as available assistance services. References List ABS, 2004, Review of the National Crime and Safety Survey, Analytical Services Report, June, Unpublished working paper. Andreasen, AR 1994, 'Social Marketing: Its Definition and Domain', Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, vol. 13, no. 1, pp. 108-114. Breunig, R, Hasan, S, & Salehin, M 2013, 'The Immigrant Wage Gap and Assimilation in Australia: Does Unobserved Heterogeneity Matter?’ Economic Record, 89, 287, pp. 490-507. Brenkert, GG 2002, 'Ethical Challenges of Social Marketing', Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 14-36 Cook, B, David, F & Grant, A 2001, ‘Sexual Violence in Australia’, Research and Public Policy Series, Australian Institute of Criminology, Canberra, Retrieved from http://www.aic.gov.au/. Easteal, P 1996. Double Jeopardy: Violence against immigrant women in the home. Australian Institute of Family Studies, 45, pp.26-30 Helmig, B, & Thaler, J 2010, 'On the Effectiveness of Social Marketing-What Do We Really Know?', Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 264-287. Mouzos, J & Makkai, T. 2004, ‘Women’s experiences of male violence: findings from the Australian component of the International Violence Against Women Survey (IVAWS)’. Research and public policy series no. 56, Australian Institute of Criminology. Canberra, Retrieved from http://www.aic.gov.au/publications/rpp/56/index.html Newton-Ward, M 2007, 'North Carolina's Social Marketing Matrix Team: Using Social Marketing Concepts to Institutionalize Social Marketing Capacity in a State Health Department', Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, vol. 17, no. 1/2, pp. 55-82 Posselt, H 2005, 'Measuring violence against women in Australia', Statistical Journal of the UN Economic Commission for Europe, vol. 22, no. 3/4, pp. 239-253 Raj, A, & Silverman, J 2003, 'Immigrant South Asian Women at Greater Risk for Injury from Intimate Partner Violence', American Journal of Public Health, 93, 3, pp. 435-437. Tjaden, P 2005, 'Defining and measuring violence against women: Background, issues, and recommendations', Statistical Journal of the UN Economic Commission for Europe, 22, 3/4, pp. 217-224. Thaler, J, & Helmig, B 2013, 'Theoretical Framework of Social Marketing Effectiveness: Drawing the Big Picture on its Functioning', Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing, 25, 3, pp. 211-236. Read More