Purpose

Intimate partner violence (IPV) tends to increase for African immigrant women upon arrival in the United States because of adjustment and acculturation stress, non-citizen status, language barriers, economic insecurity, and lack of social support. The aim of this study was to speak directly with African immigrant women living in the same U.S. urban community and ask them about their perceptions of IPV. Authors posit that by learning more about IPV perceptions from African immigrant women, we can contribute to the literature on African immigrant women’s experiences and, using transnational intersectionality theory, we can identify how social service providers may use these perceptions to create more inclusive and effective services for African immigrant women experiencing IPV.

Method

Community-based participatory focus groups and interpretive phenomenology were used to understand the perceptions of IPV from 22 women (10 Ethiopian immigrant women and 12 immigrant women from various French speaking countries in Africa). Cultural brokers helped with the development of research questions, recruitment materials, interview process, and the review of interview transcripts.

Results

Women reported concerns and barriers precipitated by intersections of culture and patriarchy, judgment from others, and fear of losing financial support. Findings also show that perceptions of IPV and decision-making to seek help were influenced by factors associated with their countries of origin as well as their host country, the United States.

Conclusions

It is important for clinicians to understand the ways in which culture, ethnicity, and transnational perspectives intersect with responses to IPV and use this to inform and support services for these populations. Implications are provided.

中文翻译：

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非洲移民妇女对网络支持和亲密伴侣暴力的看法：基于社区的研究

目的

由于适应和文化适应压力、非公民身份、语言障碍、经济不安全和缺乏社会支持，非洲移民妇女在抵达美国后的亲密伴侣暴力 (IPV) 往往会增加。本研究的目的是直接与生活在同一美国城市社区的非洲移民女性交谈，并询问她们对 IPV 的看法。作者认为，通过更多地了解非洲移民女性对 IPV 的看法，我们可以为有关非洲移民女性经历的文献做出贡献，并且使用跨国交叉性理论，我们可以确定社会服务提供者如何利用这些看法来创造更具包容性和更有效的服务为经历 IPV 的非洲移民妇女。

方法

基于社区的参与式焦点小组和解释现象学用于了解 22 名女性（10 名埃塞俄比亚移民女性和 12 名来自非洲不同法语国家的移民女性）对 IPV 的看法。文化经纪人帮助制定研究问题、招聘材料、面试过程和审查面试成绩单。

结果

女性报告了由于文化和父权制的交叉、来自他人的判断以及害怕失去经济支持而引发的担忧和障碍。调查结果还表明，对 IPV 的看法和寻求帮助的决策受到与其原籍国以及东道国美国相关的因素的影响。

结论

对于临床医生来说，了解文化、种族和跨国观点与对 IPV 的反应的交叉方式并以此为这些人群提供信息和支持服务非常重要。提供了启示。