Domestic Abuse Among African Immigrants

Introduction

Domestic abuse generally poses psychosocial impacts, which might lead to heath hazards amongst African immigrant women in England. Notably, this health concerns affect almost a half of all women globally, especially if they are subjected to domestic abuse. It normally takes place, especially between individuals that are in intimate relationships within the family. In the past, there was little attention, paid to the adverse psychosocial effects of domestic abuse (Emejulu & Bassel, 2015). However, with the emergence of the World Health Assembly in the year 1996, which declared domestic abuse against women a public health issue, and also significant empirical evidence, denoting the health impacts of domestic abuse on women, there have been global regulations, as well as conventions, enacted, with an aim of ending violence, and abuse against women (Andall, 2017). Globally, there are significant diverse statistics on the prevalence of domestic violence, which may purpose to reflect the difficulties encountered around disclosures, as well as help seeking. The estimates derived from a large WHO cross sectional survey in England on 500 women of the age bracket of 15-50 years indicated that domestic abuse is presently widespread in England, and amongst African immigrants (Crenshaw, 2018). Moreover, in England precisely, the existing evidence indicate that African women are at a high risk and they experience adverse psychological health impacts from domestic abuse and consequently, this may lead to them being killed by their abusive partners. For instance, results in England indicate that on a weekly basis, an average of two African immigrant women are killed by their abusive partners (Phillimore, 2015).

Furthermore, significant evident suggests that African immigrant women in England that fall victims of domestic abuse experience difficulty in disclosing their situation and seeking help. In this regard, there have been developments around women’s health, as well as gender studies for the last 20 years, which have renewed the interest towards improving the support for African immigrants in England who face domestic violence and survivors. Moreover, many support agencies, as well as women’s right activist groups have been put in place to highlights the need for governments and also, healthcare practitioners to enhance the disclosure of significant practices amongst women living with the experience of domestic abuse (Malsch & Smeenk, 2017). Although health care practitioners may be in a significant position, to be able to help in mitigating the short-terms, as well as long-term psychological impacts of domestic abuse amongst African immigrants in England through the process of early identification, and intervention, it is notable that many of these victims are known to withhold vital information regarding what they face. Previous research studies indicate that women, especially from ethnic minority populations often distrust those that are not considered amongst the ethnic community, and as such, they are often reluctant to disclose their vital experiences of abuse to other individuals that are unknown to them (Foner, 2018). However they are most likely to disclose instances of domestic abuse to members in their informal networks, and this includes their family, close friends, as well as ethnic community group members. This is opposed to social care practitioners and health practitioners.

Aim

This paper purposes to address the psychosocial effects of domestic abuse on African immigrant women in England. It is evident that the psychosocial effects can be detrimental to these women and as such, may result to death, just as it has been aforementioned that on a weekly basis, England experiences an average of two deaths of African immigrant women who face domestic violence. This study thus, presents a study that examines the psychological effects of the abuse these women face. The primary aim of the study is then presented as follows:

To address the psychological effects of domestic abuse on African immigrant women in England

Objectives

In order to meet the aim of this study, the following achievable objectives are established:

To investigate the psychological effects of domestic abuse

To find out how African immigrant women suffer in England, due to domestic abuse

To determine the supportive measures that the UK government has put in place to prevent domestic abuse within families

Research questions

The research objectives are then broken down into research questions as follows:

1. What are the psychological effects of domestic abuse?

2. How has the UK government taken the initiative to prevent domestic abuse within families?

3. What are the causes of domestic abuse within families?

Rationale and justification

Significant research has been conducted on domestic abuse in the past recent years. However, concerning domestic abuse on African immigrant women in England, the research has remained to be limited. Generally, the research on African immigrant women in expensive, for example, Gill & Anitha (2017) purposed to detail the increasing rate in the number of African women migrating specifically to England, yet they face domestic abuse, which impact negatively on their psychosocial health. Primarily, this paper thus, purposes to investigate the causes of domestic abuse amongst African immigrant women in England. Moreover, it also purposes to investigate how the UK government has put forth significant strategies to cope with the prevalence of domestic abuse in England. For this reasons, this study is justified.

Literature

For the past 30 years, there has been increase in the number of African immigrant women living in England. According to the UK 2001 census definition, Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) group was the name given to individuals belonging to non-white British communities. BME was adopted, as it purposed to reflect a national recognition of the roles that ethnicity plays and the manner in which race identifies the non-white British individuals from the whites (Phillimore, 2016). In the UK, there are government policies, as well as guideline that have led to significant initiatives such as This Is Abuse, which is a campaign that is designed to enforce awareness, and also provide support for domestic abuse victims survivors. Notably, despite these initiatives, it is evident that African immigrant women are less likely to disclose their experiences with domestic abuse to significant statutory services (Emejulu & Bassel, 2015).

Ethnicity and domestic abuse against women in England

A significant part of the literature has examined the effect of ethnicity on domestic abuse experience amongst immigrant women in England. In this regard, evidence indicated that domestic abuse amongst immigrant African women in England is prevalent and based on a study conducted in England, all African immigrant women identified similarities in the manner in which they understand abuse, and the role that the family plays in their experience (Andall, 2017). Psychological effects was also noted to be prevalent amongst these women and this arose themes such as self-blame, depression, severe emotional distress, as well as broken feeling. However, it was also noted that there was a difference in the manner in which this group of women described their experiences regarding domestic abuse, based on the condition in which they were (Crenshaw, 2018).

The Problematization of culture in domestic abuse against afrian immigrant women in England

Problematization refers to the strategy of developing a significant and critical consciousness, which disrupts the taken-for-granted truths. Taking into considerations, the work of Foucault, and other scholars, scholars makes a report that problematization is a method that involved thinking, and this purposes to examine the manner in which a particular phenomenon is questioned, analysed, categorised and also regulated at a given particular time in in significant specific spaces (Phillimore, 2015). The manner in which a phenomenon is problematized influences practice, as well as policy responses in the way of tackling a given phenomenon. In this regard, this paper brings forth a phenomenon, which is placed under investigation, which is the problematisation of culture in domestic abuse that involves African immigrant women in England (Malsch & Smeenk, 2017). The existing evidence suggests that culture notes that culture is problematized as a significant construct that affects women that are from ethnic minority groups, and in this study, the focus is on African immigrant women in England. Scholar suggests that the discourse of culture in the incidence of domestic abuse against African women in England is often put under critical examination and analysis as either a pathologised presence, or even a homogenesised absence (Foner, 2018).

Methodology

Study design

This study will adopt a cross-sectional qualitative research design, which will be underpinned using the interpretivist epistemological, as well as ontological perspectives. A thematic analysis will aid in facilitating the methodological approach to be used in data analysis.

Study participants

This study will select and recruit 16 women who will have to self-identify themselves as immigrants from the African community, using targeted, as well as convenience sampling techniques. The eligible participants will fall under the age bracket of 15 to 55 years, and will have had a personal experience with domestic abuse from either their current or previous marital partners.

Data collection

This study will use semi-structured interviews, using detailed, individual, face-to-face, telephone channel. The semi-structured interviews will be adopted in order to provide the participants with the opportunity to expound on the subject of their discussion, thus providing their opinion regarding the subject in question (Merriam & Tisdell, 2015). The interviews will last for 90 minutes and they will be audio-taped. Notably, an interview guide will be used in providing a focus for the entire interview and the set of boundaries that will be used in the research, whilst considering the relationship between the participant and the researcher. Moreover, the interview guide will contain significant prompts, which will allow the researcher to link the sections of the topics, and to ensure that the respondents have the opportunity of providing quality data. Although it will be handy to provide the interview structure, the participants will be allowed to tell their story, thus enabling the researcher not to be rigid (Taylor et al., 2015). Notably, in allowing the participants to be able to tell their story, this was a decision, influenced by the design of the research study, and in particular, the principles underlying the interpretivist paradigm.

Data analysis

The data for this study will be analysed by use of thematic analysis, whereby, the analysis will majorly focus on the content of the data derived from the interview. Notably, thematic analysis will be adopted as it will allow the researcher to analyse the qualitative data by use of accessible, as well as flexible approach. Moreover, thematic analysis purposes to provide a flexible and also a thorough account of the research data through the identification, analysis, as well as the report patterns that are derived within the data, without limiting specific conceptual categories (Merriam & Grenier, 2019). Overall, this research will focus on the perceptions, as well as the responses of the participants to domestic abuse and the manner in which it affect them. In this regard, thematic analysis will purpose to provide the required necessary flexibility, in the identification and analysis patterns that will emerge in the interviews with the participants.

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Ethical considerations

Owing to the fact that qualitative data, is based on materials derived from interviews, which may be regarded as highly sensitive and also personal, it is significant to acknowledge and also respect various ethical practices, of the participants, and the researchers. In this regard, it is significant to note that the answers provided by the participants will be treated with utmost confidentiality, in which case, a third party will not be allowed to access them. In line with this, once the analysis will have been completed, the questionnaires with the answers will be discarded with an immediate effect (Silverman, 2016). Secondly, the concept of anonymity will be utilized, whereby, the participants will not be allowed to provide their personal details in the questionnaire. Finally, the participants will be allowed to withdraw from the study whenever they felt like, and in this regard, even in an instance where they backed out, and yet had provided part of their answers, these answers will be discarded immediately. Overall, it is significant to note that this study will adhere to the required code of conduct, which will consequently purpose to make the participants comfortable throughout the study (Flick, 2018).

References

Andall, J. (2017). Gender, migration and domestic service: The politics of black women in Italy. Routledge.

Crenshaw, K. W. (2018). Beyond racism and misogyny: Black feminism and 2 Live Crew. In Words that wound (pp. 111-132). Routledge.

Emejulu, A., & Bassel, L. (2015). Minority women, austerity and activism. Race & Class, 57(2), 86-95.

Foner, N. (2018). Benefits and burdens: Immigrant women and work in New York City. In Immigrant women (pp. 1-20). Routledge.

Gill, A., & Anitha, S. (2017). Coercion, consent and the forced marriage debate in the UK. In Marital Rights (pp. 133-152). Routledge.

Malsch, M., & Smeenk, W. (Eds.). (2017). Family violence and police response: Learning from research, policy and practice in European countries. Taylor & Francis.

Merriam, S. B., & Grenier, R. S. (Eds.). (2019). Qualitative research in practice: Examples for discussion and analysis. Jossey-Bass.

Phillimore, J. (2015). Delivering maternity services in an era of superdiversity: the challenges of novelty and newness. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 38(4), 568-582.

Phillimore, J. (2016). Migrant maternity in an era of superdiversity: New migrants' access to, and experience of, antenatal care in the West Midlands, UK. Social Science & Medicine, 148, 152-159.

Taylor, S. J., Bogdan, R., & DeVault, M. (2015). Introduction to qualitative research methods: A guidebook and resource. John Wiley & Sons.