Journal article detailing the unregulated nature of the international marriage broker (IMB) industry and how it can endanger women. This article (a) provides an overview of the contemporary IMB industry, including a discussion of reasons underlying women’s choices to use IMB agencies to meet and marry U.S.-based spouses, (b) discusses how this industry’s marketing of marriages potentially endangers many women recruits, and (c) offers an update and analysis of new provisions under U.S. immigration law that strengthen protections available for women who immigrate as fiancés and spouses of U.S. citizens.
Publisher: SAGE Publications
[pdf] Battered Immigrant Women in the United States and Protection Orders: An Exploratory Research (August 1, 2012) (+)
This article explores battered immigrant women’s use of protection orders. It presents an exploratory view of battered immigrant women’s knowledge of protection orders, the reasons leading them to file for protection orders, the remedies they sought in the protection orders, their views on what would improve the process of obtaining protection orders, and their experiences with the violations of protection.
[pdf] Experiences of Immigrant Women Who Self-Petition Under the Violence Against Women Act (+)
Undocumented immigrant women who are abused and living in the United States are isolated in a foreign country, in constant fear of deportation, and feel at the mercy of their spouse to gain legal status. To ensure that immigration law does not trap women in abusive relationships, the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA, 1994) enabled immigrant women to self-petition for legal status. Qualitative research methods were used in this participatory action research to investigate the experiences of Mexican immigrant women filing VAWA self-petitions. Emotional, financial, and logistic barriers in applying are identified, and recommendations for practice research and policy are provided.
[pdf] Wife Battery in Islam: A Comprehensive Understanding of Interpretations (+)
This article presents a comprehensive discussion of Islamic interpretations of wife beating. Four schools with varying Islamic perspectives on the issue of wife beating are explored. The schools are classified based on the severity of the patriarchal values reflected in the structural relationship between men (husbands) and women (wives) within the family and the general society. Literal, patriarchal, and feminist interpretations of the Qur’anic text are provided. This review of the range of Islamic interpretations regarding wife beating provides an educational tool for advocates, attorneys, and service providers working with immigrant Muslim women in the United States.
[pdf] The Roles of Culture, Context, and Legal Immigrant Status on Intimate Partner Violence (March, 2002) (+)
Intimate partner violence against immigrant women is at epidemic proportions, but research has only recently begun to address the concern. A review of the legal, medical, and social science research literature reveals little data, but that which exist demonstrate that immigrant women’s cultures, contexts, and legal status (a) increase vulnerability for abuse, (b) are used by batterers to control and abuse immigrant women, and (c) create barriers to women seeking and receiving help. Data also reveal that immigrant culture and context offer resiliency factors through which programs and policy can be used to better serve these populations.