125.6
Pushing Back Against Stereotypes: Muslim Immigrant Women’s Experiences of Domestic Violence

Monday, 16 July 2018: 11:45
Location: 714B (MTCC SOUTH BUILDING)
Oral Presentation
Nafiseh GHAFOURNIA, The University of Sydney, Australia
This paper explores implications for service provision, social work education and policy regarding domestic violence among Muslim immigrant women. It provides some practical strategies and recommendations for service providers, on how to work with this group of marginalised women who experienced domestic violence. These strategies are based on the study capturing the vignette of 14 Muslim immigrant women in Australia with respect to their perceptions and experiences of, and responses to, domestic violence, while applying a feminist intersectional approach. While the literature that reflects the complexity of domestic violence situations for immigrant women from different ethnic backgrounds is growing, much remains unknown about Muslim women, their lived experiences of abuse and the challenges they confront in dealing with domestic violence in Australia. This lack of knowledge may contribute to the perpetuation of stereotypes or generalisations about these groups of women, their cultures and their religions. This paper contributes to knowledge about the specificities of Muslim immigrant women’s experiences in Australia. It explores the intersections of gender, culture, religion and immigration, and the ways in which different social locations interact in Muslim immigrant women’s experiences of abuse.