Asian migrant youth and family violence examined

Asian migrant youth and family violence examined in new research

Despite the rise of vibrant Asian communities in New Zealand’s urban sectors, very little research has examined intimate partner and family violence that accounts for experiences tied to migration, immigration status, age hierarchies, culture and racism.

This symposium will be the first of its kind in New Zealand that highlights key findings from three research projects conducted in Auckland between 2013 and 2015, focused on intimate partner and family violence with Asian youth.

Raagini Vijaykumar and David Mayeda’s sociological research also offers suggestions on developing prevention-based curricula for migrant youth.

“Youth perspectives and experiences are important to understand how we can work towards ending violence in the next generations. Our research examines how youth from Asian backgrounds define intimate partner violence, learn intimate partner norms and cope with the cultural forces that perpetuate gender-based violence,” Raagini Vijaykumar says.

Mengzhu Fu’s ethnographic study is focused on young family violence survivors’ experiences of moving on.

“I used to work with young women who had left families or partners due to violence and I wanted to find out about how they get on with their lives afterwards. My research details their reflections and highlights the structural violence we have yet to fully address,” says Mengzhu Fu.

Sehar Moughal’s research describes a behavioural intervention termed video self-modeling, which was used successfully with family violence survivors and has helped them to reintegrate into society by securing stable employment and pursuing higher education.

“I did this research to find a practical intervention to increase social connections for young migrant women who, like me, had to leave abusive family or partner relationships,” says Sehar Moughal.
Collectively, the three projects offer a menu of approaches to tackling family and intimate partner violence with Auckland’s rich Asian communities.

All three projects were conducted in partnership with Shakti Community Council, Inc., a non-governmental organisation that specialises in working with women and children from Asian, Middle Eastern and African ancestries coping with domestic violence.

The symposium is on the 18th of November 6.30pm-8pm at University of Auckland Clocktower, lecture theatre 039.

ENDS

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