South Asian Women

Domestic violence, alternatively referred to as Intimate Partner Violence, is defined by the Department of Justice as “a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner.” While domestic violence is commonly thought of as only physical or sexual abuse, domestic violence can also be emotional, economic, or psychological. Domestic violence has remained constant in society throughout history, even though over time society’s response to the issue has changed. While domestic violence affects everyone regardless of race, gender, age, etc. it is estimated that approximately 90% of all victims are women. For the purpose of this paper, I will be focusing on

Currently, 21.4% of youth aged 13-18 and 13% of children aged 8-15 experience significant mental health problems in the U.S. (National Institute of Mental Health, 2015). Also, mental health problems are currently extremely stigmatizing in most Asian cultures, and compared to Caucasians, Asian Americans exhibit significantly high levels of mental health problems (Young et al., 2010). In general, depressive symptoms are associated with major developmental impairments that may persist a child’s later life. Thus, experiencing various stressors of Asian American immigrant children during their before and after immigration processes impact their psychological well-being.

Women who are being abused and controlled by their partners are generally not allowed to engage in the kind of open dialogue that counseling promotes. In fact, a woman who does speak openly to a social worker in the presence of an abusive partner may, in reality, be in serious danger when she returns home. (Golden, 1994) The fear that is created through the abuse makes it difficult for the victim to admit they are being mistreated.

community is aware of domestic abuse. However, many felt that the problem is not discussed openly and honestly and for some who have experieceed violence in their family of origin view it as normal (Kirsten, 2000).

Domestic violence is an epidemic in our society with dramatic, negative effects on individuals, families and communities. Domestic violence is a crime that knows no economic, racial, ethnic, religious, age or gender limits. Women who are victims of domestic violence most likely are also victims of sexual assault and, stalking. A domestic violence victim may experience systematic rape in addition to physical and psychological abuse. According to Backman, (p.54) nearly one in every four women are beaten or raped by a partner during adulthood. Three women are killed by a current or former intimate partner each day in America, on average women are at an increased risk of harm shortly after separation from an abusive partner.

Females are the most highly affected by domestic abuse according to studies done around the world. Typically aggressive behavior at home is frequently more than simply physical misuse. It involves sexual, enthusiastic, monetary and mental savagery. At first, recognizing the indications of an injurious relationship can be troublesome, particularly if the abuser utilizes inconspicuous strategies to pick up force and control. It is normal for survivors to perceive the start of the misuse as the first run through when the abusers hit them, yet truly the cycle of violence may have begun at an opportune time in the relationship. Culprits have a tendency to fascinate and be exceptionally persuading when applying power and control strategies. People

The eight women were compared to ten other demographically matched women in the standard CBT treatment group (control) that had previously completed CBT treatment. Both group CBT interventions met once a week for sixteen weeks. Each session lasted 90 minutes, and had weekly homework assignments. The control group had rolling admissions, whereas the AACBT was a closed group. The AACBT consisted of changes to the CBT structure and content. Details of the changes are listed in Table 5 and Table 6. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) was administered before and after treatment. Effect sizes were not reported in the study’s results. Before treatment, both the AACBT and control group participants’ BDI scores suggested severe depression. At post-treatment, participants in both groups improved as indicated by a decrease in BDI scores. The average BDI score decreased by -12.6 points for the AACBT group, and by -5.9 for the control group. The women in the AACBT group portrayed a larger decrease (-6.7) in pre- and post-BDI scores as compared to the control group. However, overall both groups’ BDI scores indicated a decrease from severe (32.3) to moderate (23.1)

Over the last decade more immigrants have traveled to the United States from Asia than any other nationality (Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum [APIAHF], 2015). Understanding the specific needs of this population is important to prevent health disparities. Currently Asians are the only racial group who’s leading cause of death is cancer (Tseng et al., 2010). Asian Americans are also more likely to suffer from hepatitis B and tuberculosis. Both children and adults are more likely to have diabetes due to obesity. Many Asian Americans also suffer from mental disorders, specifically depression and PTSD (Tseng et al., 2010). Cambodian patients in particular have “significantly higher physical and mental health problems compared to the general population” (Poitras, 2013, para. 1). In fact, sources noted that terrible treatment by the communist group Khmer Rouge which resulted in the Cambodian Genocide, caused a great deal of mental illness in Cambodian immigrants (C. Heinrich, personal communication, April 24, 2016; Poitras, 2013). Unfortunately, this cultural group experiences considerable barriers to health care for several reasons.

The original cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is generally accepted as an efficacious problem-focused and action-oriented treatment for children. Also, Cognitive-behavioral intervention for trauma in schools (CBITS) program is a school-based, group and individual intervention, which is designed for multicultural population. Given a lot of elements which are included in CBITS school-based interventions in above, cultural understanding is necessary as key components in the school-based intervention program. Although, CBITS is a great intervention that has similar interests and goals to what I expect to change, but it more focuses on trauma-related symptoms among children, so it does not exactly meet my interest. That is why I propose a newly developed intervention. Therefore, I adapt a culturally understanding component and school-based setting from the CBITS program to my intervention that I expect to bring greatest effect as a result. Since East Asian American immigrant children may be not good at language, especially English as a host culture, English education would be considered as well. For providing cultural understanding as a key of intervention, social workers should be well trained culturally to improve East Asian American immigrant children’s depression symptoms. As a result, I propose a ‘culturally modified cognitive behavior therapy (CM-CBT)’ treatment program as a school-based

While it affects so many people worldwide, there are still cultures to this day that follow old male authoritarian traditions. Women often choose to remain in abusive relationships because of their cultural views, their children, a lack of financial support/ help, myths surrounding intimate partner violence, patriarchy present in the relationship, and strain. The problem of underreporting not only prevents us from knowing how many become victims of such abuse, but it also pushes the problem under the rug. We need to raise awareness and show people that there are resources out there that can help a person transition into a safe living environment, far from

Women who are abused are afraid to leave their abuser because they fear for the welfare of themselves and their children. “Most children who witness domestic violence manifest some symptoms associated with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder” (“Domestic violence Statistics”). Threats take place that make the women not

Furthermore, immigrants women tend to have many responsibilities when it comes to their households and workplace (Kirmayer et al, p.4, 2011). Thus, this can prevent them from getting access to health care especially mental health services (Kirmayer et al, p.4, 2011). Studies have found that immigrant women are three times likely to experience depression compared to their Canadian-born counterparts (Raphael, p. 217, 2010). The lack of access to health care

The symptoms of mental disorders are found in all nations and in all cultures; there are recognizable symptoms that are common worldwide. Mental health researchers have not yet been able to determine whether culture bound syndromes are indicative of one or more possibilities that include distinct disorders that exist only in specific cultures, and reflect different ways in which individuals from different cultures express mental illness, as well as reflecting different ways in which the social and cultural environment interact with genes to produce disorders, or any combination of these. (pp. 101)

Every year in the United States, One in four women are victims of the domestic violence; however, this is only based on what has been reported to the department of justice (Stahly 2008). While men are also victims of domestic violence, women are more often the victims. Moreover, 90% of domestic violence is male initiated. In severe cases domestic violence ends with victims being murdered. More specifically, domestic violence resulted in 2,340 deaths in the United States in 2007, and 70% of those killed were females (CDC 2012). Many people think that victims have the option of leaving and many people blame victims for putting up with the abuse; what many people don 't know is, victims of domestic violence have many reasons preventing them from leaving their abusers, these reasons include, isolation, having children bounding them with the abuser and lack of financial support. "It 's never pretty when you leave an abusive and controlling relationship. The warden always protests when a prison gets shut down," says Dr. Steve Maraboli (qtd from web). Whether a victim stays or leaves their abuser, the outcomes of both situations are not always as easy as many people predict. In some situations, the outcomes of leaving may be very dangerous for both the victim and her children.

“Every year in the United States there are over 3 million incidents of domestic violence. That means that every nine seconds a women is beaten by her domestic partner” (Findeley). There are many women that stay silent when being abuse by their partners. The consequences of staying quiet when obtaining abuse can be dangerous and can also lead to death. Many women do not recognize the importance of the fact that there is in speaking out if they are being abuse by their partner. No woman should take domestic abuse by their partners. Every woman deserves a healthy relationship; A healthy relationship involves trust, respect, and consideration for the other person. Domestic abuse has gotten worse during the past years and is still rising up. One can see that domestic abuse can occur everywhere. Domestic abuse is considered a crime and woman should not keep silent when being abuse.