Perspectives on Mediatised Discourses about and State Intervention into Dowry-related Abuse and Intimate-partner Violence among Indian Migrants in Australia: Implications for Health and Human Services

ABSTRACT

Dowry-related abuse and intimate-partner violence among Indian immigrants in Australia have received considerable attention in the national media in recent years. Media reportage and commentary on these issues have highlighted the testimonies and experiences of migrants who have faced dowry-related abuse and intimate-partner violence, untangling the complex context-specific issues (around culture and matrimony, and migration pathways, among others) that such testimonies raise. Demands for state intervention in response to emerging concerns about dowry-related abuse among Indian migrants in Australia have dominated public discourse on the issue. This article comments on the emergence of discourses prioritizing state intervention in this domain, highlighting the views of community and government representatives, and discussing the authors’ perspectives on the implications of these emergent discussions for practitioners in health and human services.

KEYWORDS:

• Domestic violence
• intimate-partner violence
• dowry
• culture
• media
• Australia
• India
• migration
• legislation

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).