Immigration Provisions in the Violence Against Women Act: Implications for Asian Indian Marriage Migrants

ABSTRACT

We explore the perspectives of 26 domestic violence advocates from 14 nonprofit organizations on gaps in the immigration-related provisions of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) as these relate to the intersectional needs and experiences of Asian Indian marriage migrants. Findings indicate that, based on immigration status and other intersectional locations, policy provisions differentially affect this population. In addition, because agencies focus on broadly defined populations (immigrants or women), but victims’ locations are intersectional, intersectional policy analysis and coordination between and across agencies formulating and administering policies are required to meet the needs of abused Asian Indian marriage migrants.

KEYWORDS:

• Domestic violence
• intersectionality
• marriage migrants
• Violence Against Women Act

Notes

1. Marriage migrants are those who come to the country on account of having married a person who is working or residing in the United States for unification of the family (Fan and Li 2002).

2. Murphy and colleagues (2009) distinguish between studies using intersectionally defined categories (e.g., “South Asian immigrant women”) and intersectional research that purposefully/intentionally integrates an intersectional approach throughout all stages of the research process, including theoretical conceptualization.

3. Under Secure Communities Act, “the FBI automatically sends fingerprints to the Department of Homeland Security to check against its immigration databases” (www.ice.gov).

4. 5150 is a section of the California Welfare and Institutions code that allows a qualified officer to involuntarily confine a person who is deemed to have mental disorders

5. Hindi is the national language of India.

6. The U-visa is an immigration benefit that can be sought by victims of certain crimes who are currently assisting or have previously assisted law enforcement in the investigation or prosecution of criminal activity (Department of Homeland Security n.d.).

7. The Hague Convention is a multilateral treaty, “which seeks to protect children from the harmful effects of abduction and retention across international boundaries by providing a procedure to bring about their prompt return” (www.hcch.net).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Sonia Kapur

Sonia Kapur is an assistant professor of international studies at the University of North Carolina, Asheville, NC. Her research interests include intersectionality, immigration and domestic violence, and stratification studies.

Anna Zajicek

Anna Zajicek is a professor of sociology at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR. Her scholarship has been devoted to the intersectional nature of social inequalities, institutional change, and gendered organizations.

Valerie Hunt

Valerie Hunt is an associate professor in the Department of Political Science and associate director of the Public Policy PhD Program at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR. Her research interests include community-based organizations, intersectionality of social inequalities, public policy, and inequality.