Immigration and Intimate Partner Violence

Abstract

Drawing from a feminist and ecological perspective, intimate partner violence, also known as domestic violence, is abuse that occurs in intimate relationships regardless of culture, race/ethnicity, or sexual orientation and involves behaviors used by one person to gain or maintain power and control over the other person. These types of abuse and characteristics of abuse include psychological, physical, sexual, verbal, or economic abuse, or isolation. Targeted victims in intimate partner violence incidences are predominantly women. According to the ecological model, intimate partner violence manifests at four levels, including individual, relationship, community, and societal. During the 1970s in the United States, recognition of intimate partner violence as a community problem affecting millions of American Caucasian women was apparent. Since that time increasing numbers of foreign-born individuals have resulted in increased prevalence of intimate partner violence among different groups of women (e.g., African women, Asian women, Southeast Asian women, Latinas, immigrant women, refugees) living in the United States. In addition, the intersection between intimate partner violence and immigration-related implications has increased for one particular group of women living in the United States: immigrant Latinas (i.e., approximately one in three Latinas have experienced physical violence by an intimate partner in their lifetime). This is partly due to the increase of Latinos migrating to the United States from Mexico, Central American countries, and other Spanish-speaking countries. According to the 2016 US census, Latinos are the largest and fastest-growing minority group in the United States. The majority of Latinos currently reside in large states and distinct geographical parts of the United States (e.g., California, Texas, New York, Southwestern and Eastern states). In the early 21st century, the Southeastern (e.g., state of North Carolina) and Midwestern (e.g., state of Iowa) parts of the United States have seen an increase in the Latino population. The criminal justice system’s involvement and efforts to mitigate intimate partner violence among migrant populations are noteworthy.