ABSTRACTSURVIVING DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN THE MIDWEST UNITED STATES: SOUTH ASIAN WOMENByZain ShamoonResearch over the last fifteen years has revealed a high prevalence of domestic violence amongst South Asian women in the United States, as well as culture-specific manifestations of abuse (Mahapatra, 2012; Maker & deRoon-Cassini, 2007; Raj, Liu, McCleary-Sills & Silverman, 2005; Raj & Silverman, 2003; Robertson, Nagaraj, & Vyas, 2016). However, mainstream domestic violence interventions in the United States are ridden with cultural barriers, irresponsive to experiences of ethnic-minority women (Abugideiri, 2010; Few, 2005; Krane, Oxman-Martinez, & Ducey, 2000; Kulwicki, Aswad, Carmona, & Ballout, 2010; Pan et al., 2006). Little is known about the ways U.S. South Asian women choose to cope with domestic violence, or the role of this abuse within larger systems of disempowerment. This study used grounded theory methods to understand the lived experiences of South Asian women who are domestic violence survivors currently residing in the Midwest United States. This project was framed through a human ecological perspective, in order to capture a systemic understanding about domestic abuse, and its sociocultural influences. Results yielded two main storylines that are summative of these survivors’ experiences. These were the Ecology of Disempowerment and the Ecology of Survival. Themes related to participants’ disempowerment included: rigid power dynamics they endured, various typologies of abuse, and the deleterious impact of these experiences upon their wellness. Findings related to their survival had seven elements: their perceptions about whether support was available, having to cope in secret, trying to locate family for help, trying to locate the community for help, personal processing, the role of social standing, and individualized ways of surviving.This study suggests the importance of a family and community centered approach in interrupting domestic abuse against U.S. South Asian women. Findings also reflect the need for a critical view of survivor secrecy, and the need for culturally sensitive access to services available in multiple sectors of society.
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