In-law Perpetrated Domestic Abuse in Australia’s South Asian Communities

Background

To highlight the scope of domestic abuse within South Asian communities which is not limited to male on female intimate partner violence. Many women are subjected to domestic abuse by their in-laws, with a primary focus on mothers-in-law and sisters-in-law who perpetrate this abuse, sometimes with the benign support of the husband, or without the husband being aware. It can be extremely difficult to achieve justice as this abuse is unrecognised in Australia, and on many occasions, the perpetrators are abusing from afar and therefore not in the jurisdiction to enact AVO's or DVO's.

Aim

To highlight the 'other' type of abuse that South Asian women experience, which is completely different to how we understand domestic abuse within a western concept. Also to show how justice is very often missing from the healing that women go through after domestic abuse and how to better educate and inform victims of their rights in Australia and strategies to work through their situations.

Methods

Focus groups talking to women about their experiences with In-law perpetrated abuse. In depth interviews with women from South Asian communities who have suffered through this experience, collecting data on their demographics to show that this abuse happens in all sorts of situations and socio-economic contexts. We will then publish a thesis and a series of podcasts that will talk about the findings and how we can help stakeholders to be aware of this form of domestic abuse, and the methods we can use to limit the abuse.

Significance

This is new ground in this research. It is something that women are facing daily but have little avenue to escape. Usually the relationship between husband and wife is fine, until the in-laws start to make claims, or come to visit, or are against the partnership. There is an opportunity to learn about this "type" of abuse, but also a chance to make some real legislative changes that can help women experiencing this abuse, even if the perpetrator is not in the country. It's also an opportunity for service providers to step out of the IPV lens and understand other forms of abuse, and maybe an opportunity for Govts to fund ethno-specific service providers that understand South Asian women and can fully service them.

Funding Body

Griffith University PhD Program

Project start date

February 2023

Expected completion date

February 2026