South Asian Immigrant Communities Research Articles

South Asians and the Role of Bystanders in Domestic Violence Prevention: Results from a Pilot Study

ABSTRACT Purpose Domestic violence manifests in unique ways in South Asian immigrant communities. Given the need to uphold family honor, formal help-seeking remains minimal within this community. Individuals experiencing victimization rely on friends and family members as informal sources of support. These friends and family members may also be bystanders who witness victimization. Therefore, the goal of this study was to examine differences in participant responses to an online interactive bystander intervention developed for South Asians. Methods To get community response to the intervention, B.R.A.K.E. The Cycle, a Qualtrics link with all the intervention scenarios was posted on 21 sub-Reddit pages. Screeners to ensure that participants were of South Asian origin, 18 or older and currently residing in the United States (US) were added. True to the study purpose, to examine differences across gender and generational position, we conducted descriptive analysis and chi-square tests. Results There were differences in scenarios by gender and immigration position. Some of the main findings point to the need to report domestic violence, seek help (formal or informal) as well as surprisingly some responses justified the use of force by a male partner. We discuss these in-depth by scenarios. Discussion This is the first study to examine differences in bystander preference and response to using an intervention that was developed specifically for the South Asian community. Social workers can utilize this intervention to create dialogue around domestic violence prevention and the role of bystander within the South Asian and potentially other immigrant communities.

Beyond the Body: Using Photovoice to Explore Social Determinants of Diabetes With South Asian Adolescents in the Peel Region of Ontario, Canada

ObjectivesThe higher prevalence of diabetes in the South Asian (SA) population living in Canada spans across generations and is often associated with individual risk factors while undermining the social determinants of health (SDOH). There is a scarcity of studies on the perspectives of SA adolescents with a family history of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Learning directly from these adolescents can fill a major gap by providing insight on how the SDOH contribute to disproportionate rates of T2DM in SA immigrant communities. MethodsIn this study, we used Photovoice, which is a community-based participatory research (CBPR) method that involves the use of photography to visually capture the challenges of diabetes prevention from the perspective of those with lived experiences. A group of 15 SA youth were recruited from an adolescent diabetes education program in the Peel Region of Ontario. The youth discussed their images and accompanied written narratives during focus groups. ResultsFour themes emerged from the thematic analysis of the photographs and participant narratives that influence the manifestation of T2DM in SA communities: 1) immigration and resettlement stressors; 2) food insecurity; 3) unhealthy school environments; and 4) academic pressures. ConclusionsFindings suggest the need to address T2DM as a response to unjust conditions and environments rather than as an epidemic entrenched in genetic predisposition, culture, and poor lifestyle choices.

Meaningful and deep community engagement efforts for pragmatic research and beyond: engaging with an immigrant/racialised community on equitable access to care

Primary healthcare access is one of the crucial factors that ensures the health and well-being of a population. Immigrant/racialised communities encounter a myriad of barriers to accessing primary healthcare. As...

Changing Clinic-Community Social Ties in Immigrant-Serving Primary Care Practices in New York City: Social and Organizational Implications of the Affordable Care Act's Population-Health-Related Provisions

Small primary care practices are critical to advancing Affordable Care Act (ACA) aims, yet their efforts and experiences remain little studied. We examine two strategies derived from ACA population-health provisions—enhanced use of electronic health records (EHRs) and community health worker (CHW)–led peer coaching—for hypertension control in sixteen small practices serving South Asian immigrant communities in New York City. Based on interviews with physicians, staff, and CHWs, we analyze “street-level” dilemmas encountered in implementing the strategies. Findings indicate that the strategies reinforce clinic-community social ties but present distinct challenges for small practices: internal management constraints that impede formal CHW-physician contact, and external incentives linked to EHR tools that, physicians and staff perceive, do not meet immigrant communities’ needs and expectations in medical encounters.

South Asian American Discourses: Engaging the Yellow Peril-Model Minority Dialectic

South Asians, despite their positioning as a “model minority,” have not been immune from the consequences of the heightened racist and nationalist rhetoric witnessed lately in the United States. However, such sentiments about the South Asian immigrant community are not new, as they are reflective of a “yellow peril” discourse. This study analyzes South Asian Americans’ responses to a TIME Magazine column complaining about their influx into Edison, New Jersey. It first explores the racial formation that the model minority myth, in dialectical relationship with the yellow peril discourse, has produced among South Asians. Through this analysis, this study critically analyzes how South Asian Americans’ discourses both reinforce and challenge their racialized status positions and identities as the model minority.

Mental Health and Stress Among South Asians.

Addressing mental illness requires a culturally sensitive approach. As detailed in this literature review, treating mental illness in the South Asian immigrant community necessitates a thorough understanding of the South Asian conceptualization of mental illness. Past research, though limited, has described the different reasons the South Asian community attributes to causing mental illness, as well as the stigma associated with acknowledging the disease. Acculturation of the community also plays a significant role in cultural acceptability and the receipt of quality care. Lessons from local organizations can be applied at the national level to promote cultural responsiveness in treating mental illness in the South Asian immigrant community.

Gutka and Tambaku Paan Use Among South Asian Immigrants: A Focus Group Study

Smokeless tobacco use is prevalent among South Asian immigrants, particularly in the forms of gutka and tambaku paan. In this paper, we examined (a) gutka and tambaku paan initiation and use patterns among South Asian immigrants, and (b) perceptions related to quitting and tobacco control. Six focus groups were conducted with 39 South Asian adult gutka/tambaku paan users, in three different South Asian languages (Gujarati, Bengali, and Urdu). Participants reported easy availability of gutka and tambaku paan in neighborhood stores, and noted several factors that promoted initiation (including social networks, perceived benefits, and curiosity). Due to awareness of low social acceptance of gutka and tambaku paan in the US, some participants discussed changing patterns of use following immigration. Finally, participants proposed roles of various agencies (e.g., doctors'/dentists' role, government-led initiatives) for tobacco control in South Asian immigrant communities. This research provides implications for improving tobacco control efforts in the United States, particularly for South Asian immigrants.

Narratives of Suffering of South Asian Immigrant Survivors of Domestic Violence

This article examines the narratives of suffering expressed by a group of South Asian immigrant survivors of domestic violence who accessed a mental health clinic in New York City. These accounts illustrate women's own perceptions of their suffering and symptoms and provide a window into the South Asian immigrant community's ideologies and moral domains regarding gender, violence, and sickness, as well as how individuals vary in their endorsement of these ideologies. The women's narratives illustrate how migration and culture interact with the deeply personal experience of suffering caused by domestic and sexual violence.

The Anthropology of the state: a reader

Acknowledgements. Organization of the Book. Introduction: Rethinking Theories of the State in an Age of Globalization. Part I: Theoretical Maps: The Classics. Section Introduction. 1. Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses (Notes Towards an Investigation): Louis Althusser. 2. Selections from the Prison Notebooks: Antonio Gramsci. 3. Bureaucracy: Max Weber. 4. Notes on the Difficulty of Studying the State: Philip Abrams. 5. Governmentality: Michel Foucault. 6. Governing Advanced Liberal Democracies: Nikolas Rose. Part II: Ethnographic Mappings. Section I: Bureaucracy/Governmentality. 7. Finding the Man in the State: Wendy Brown. 8. Society, Economy, and the State Effect: Timothy Mitchell. 9. Blurred Boundaries: The Discourse of Corruption, the Culture of Politics, and the Imagined State: Akhil Gupta. Section II: Development/Planning. 10. Cities, People, and Language: James Scott. 11. The Anti-Politics Machine: Jim Ferguson. Section III: Welfare/Warfare/Law/Citizenship. 12. The Public/Private Mirage: Mapping Homes and Undomesticating Violence Work in the South Asian Immigrant Community: Ananya Bhattarcharjee. 13. Cultural Logics of Belonging and Movement: Transnationalism, Naturalization, and U.S. Immigration Politics: Susan Bibler Coutin. 14. Making War at Home in the United States: Militarization and the Current Crisis: Catherine Lutz. Section IV: Popular Culture. 15. Popular Culture and the State: Stuart Hall. 16. The Banality of Power and the Aesthetics of Vulgarity in the Postcolony: Achille Mbembe. Index

Domestic Violence in the Chinese and South Asian Immigrant Communities

Although the Chinese and South Asian immigrant populations are largely silent on this issue, domestic violence is a fact of life in many families. In this article, we discuss cultural factors that may cause and prolong abuse in Asian immigrant homes, and review similarities and differences between the two Asian cultures in this regard. This article also addresses the psychological trauma experienced by abused Asian immigrant women and the coping strategies that they are likely to employ. Culturally sensitive intervention strategies are presented that may be appropriately used in working with Chinese and South Asian immigrant women for whom abuse is a terrifying and demeaning fact of life.

The Challenges of Feminist Citizenship: An Interview with Anannya Bhattacharjee

Anannya Bhattacharjee’s 1996 article “The Public/Private Mirage: Mapping Homes and Undomesticating Violence Work in the South Asian Immigrant Community” opened up new ways to think about women in community and the link between enforcement violence as manifested by private and public actors. This interview with her was conducted in New York City on June 6 2003. (excerpt)

Patriarchal Beliefs and Perceptions of Abuse among South Asian Immigrant Women

This study investigates the relationship between South Asian immigrantwomen’s patriarchal beliefs and their perceptions of spousal abuse. Twenty-minute telephone surveys were conducted with 47 women. The survey collected information about demographic characteristics, patriarchal beliefs, ethnic identity, and abuse status. Participants were read a vignette that depicted an abusive situation and were asked whether they felt that the woman in the vignette was a victim of spousal abuse. As hypothesized, higher agreement with patriarchal social norms predicted a decreased likelihood of identifying the woman in the vignette as a victim of spousal abuse. This finding is discussed in terms of its application to violence against women educational programs in the South Asian immigrant community.

Introduction to the Special Issue on Domestic Violence and the South Asian Community

The South Asian community in the United States is composed of immigrants from the Indian subcontinent (primarily, India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh) and immigrants from the lands of the South Asian diaspora, including the Caribbean nations and South American countries. In themselves, these countries represent complex and diverse histories. Individuals coming from these countries are therefore influenced by a variety of sociopolitical, socioeconomic, cultural, religious, and historical factors that guide their behaviors toward themselves and others. Thus, when we try to address the issue of domestic violence in this community, it is difficult to isolate a single factor or set of factors to explain the phenomenon. Indeed, the South Asian peoples from these countries carry with them their national heritage and their religious heritages of Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, and Christianity. Hence, grasping the social dimensions associated with family violence requires a deep knowledge of these varied cultural and religious structures and histories. The obstacles to understanding domestic violence in this community are enormous, including the high level of secretiveness and fear operating among its members, which demarcate the very nature of the problem. These factors create a great challenge to the professional community and to the survivors, advocates, and community-based organizations interested in addressing this problem. For now we can only rely on preliminary, informal, and limited statistics about the problem until a more open forum to address the issue is found. It is essential to facilitate dialogue wherein discussion can take place. This was, indeed, the goal of the conference organized at St. John’s University on April 4, 1998, entitled “Furthering the Dialogue: Domestic Violence in the South Asian Immigrant Community.” It is dangerous to neglect this problem in a community that is increasing in number, making it likely that the number of domestic abuse cases may increase from an already threatening level. There are serious physical health, mental health, educational, occupational, and legal issues related to this problem that should be of concern to the professional and academic community.

South Asian immigrant communities and English family law: 1971–1987

South Asian immigrant communities and English family law: 1971–1987

Collaborative Educational Ethnography: Problems and Profits

The author describes difficulties and merits of a collaborative relationship involving a South Asian immigrant community, a school district, a community organization, and an educational anthropologist. She discusses collaborative activities within a well functioning research team, problems of local factionalism, and the value of community participation in research. The author suggests that the collaborative process helps to generate locally useful data upon which a district can plan for change, while also promoting broader research interests.