Addressing Intimate Partner & Family Violence among South Asian communities in the United States: An integrative and conciliatory approach

Context: Considerable literature exists describing public health frameworks to address various forms of domestic violence in minority communities. These approaches are often grounded in conceptual paradigms and/or models successful in traditionally-studied communities of color. However, programs and services targeting these forms of violence among South Asian Americans are often unaligned from such prescriptions.

Methods: Using on-line directories and professional repositories, a targeted and snowball sampling method was used to identify leaders in anti-violence organizations serving South Asian Americans. These representatives were interviewed to glean breadth and depth of services provided, rationale for program design, targeting of specific South Asian subgroups, and promoters/barriers for organizational success. The findings of this qualitative study will be comparatively analyzed against existing evidence-based approaches and theory-driven recommendations focusing on minority communities in the United States.

Results: Unique considerations in addressing intimate partner/family violence among South Asian American communities from an organizational perspective will be elucidated. Specific emphasis will be placed on the conceptual and practical disconnect between approaches suggested in the literature and actualities found in practice, as well as implications and recommendations for reconciliation and program development.

Conclusions: Intimate partner/domestic violence is common among South Asian communities in the United States. A public health approach integrating theory, evidence, and unique social/cultural nuances are needed in order to reduce the prevalence of this detrimental condition.