Immigrant Women in Situations of Gender Violence: Towards Improving Communication with Public Service Providers Through Interpreters

Abstract

What are the specific needs of female immigrant gender violence (GV) victims who lack proficiency in the language(s) spoken by the different public services in the host country? Do interpreters need specific training to mediate in these cases? These questions are answered based on data collected from 2012 to 2014 through focus groups with experts on gender violence, a Delphi survey of interpreters, personal interviews with victims and experts and a questionnaire survey of agents/professionals specialised in assisting foreign GV victims/survivors. The study sought to ascertain the real communication needs of agents and the GV victims who do not speak Spanish or the other co-official languages in Spain, and the problems associated with interpreters during such encounters. The practices and needs revealed by this research have been used to create resources for stakeholders (agents, victims and interpreters working in several fields, including law enforcement, judicial, medical and psychosocial).