Are Immigrant Women Visible in Australian Domestic Violence Reports that Potentially Influence Policy?

Nafiseh Ghafournia and Patricia Easteal, ‘Invisibility of Immigrant women in Domestic Violence Policy in Australia’ Laws 7(4), 32, 2018; DOI/10.3390/laws7040032

16 Pages Posted: 11 Oct 2018

See all articles by Nafiseh Ghafournia

Nafiseh Ghafournia

Faculty of Education and Social Work, The University of Sydney,

Patricia L. Easteal

University of Canberra Law School

Date Written: September 21, 2018

Abstract

Through an intersectional lens, this article explores whether immigrant women are represented in a sample of Australian government documents aimed at providing information about family violence in Australia, and discusses implications for policy development. The authors find that while these documents pay lip service to the special vulnerabilities of immigrant and refugee women; arguably, they do not engage with the complexities of the intersection of gender and other social categories. Given that the reports do not focus adequately on how race, ethnicity, culture and immigration status play a role in these women’s experiences of domestic violence, this may limit the effect of policies that address the culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) victims’ needs and rights to protection. We argue that a more intersectional approach is necessary to address CALD women’s specific needs.

Keywords: domestic violence; immigrant; refugee; CALD; domestic violence policies; intersectionality; Australia

JEL Classification: K37, K49

Suggested Citation

Ghafournia, Nafiseh and Easteal, Patricia L., Are Immigrant Women Visible in Australian Domestic Violence Reports that Potentially Influence Policy? (September 21, 2018). Nafiseh Ghafournia and Patricia Easteal, ‘Invisibility of Immigrant women in Domestic Violence Policy in Australia’ Laws 7(4), 32, 2018; DOI/10.3390/laws7040032 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3252882

Nafiseh Ghafournia

Faculty of Education and Social Work, The University of Sydney, ( email )

University of Sydney
Sydney, NSW 2006
Australia

Patricia L. Easteal (Contact Author)

University of Canberra Law School ( email )

Australia

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