Domestic Violence Policy Advocacy & Challenges: Experiences of Abused South Asian Expatriate Women in Dubai

Purpose: The study examined for the very first time the extent of intimate partner violence (IPV) in heterosexual relationships among women of South Asian origin (from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh) living in Dubai. The study’s purpose was also to better understand sociocultural factors associated with the experiences of IPV and informal and formal help-seeking among the sample population. Methods: This study utilized a parallel mixed-methods design, which used both qualitative and quantitative approaches that were conducted during time-lapsed phases (Teddlie & Tashakkori, 2009). The study comprised of two phases. The first phase was a survey design methodology that was used to obtain data from a cross section of women of South Asian origin residing in Dubai. Participants were recruited through community outreach (word of mouth), women contacts, emails to South Asian members, and local organizations/shelters in the city which the researcher was able to visit personally. Both electronic (in English only hosted on Survey Monkey (2014)) and paper surveys (in English and 4 other South Asian languages) (N=45) were collected anonymously with the help of a self-report questionnaire. In the second phase of the study, to enhance the quality and add richness to this study, a qualitative case study methodology was adopted to create a “thick description” (Engel, & Schutt, 2013, p. 275) of South Asian expartriate women’s experience of IPV through in-depth interviews using semi-structured questionnaire. Two participants were recruited from the community with the help of researcher’s contacts. Data analyses: Descriptive statistics was used to describe the prevalence of IPV among the group and to describe help-seeking behaviors of those who have been abused. Qualitative data/ transcripts were coded using Initial Coding, Process Coding, In Vivo Coding, and Emotion Coding followed by Theming of Data to explore personal and interpretive meaning found within the data (Saldaña, 2013, p. 61). Results: South Asian women in the sample indicated a higher rate of being abused by their intimate partner, with almost 47% reporting IPV in the past one year. The study also indicated higher rates of psychological aggression against the women in the group. Among the women who reported abuse, most sought help from immediate family and outside/formal agencies alike. Additionally, qualitative data indicated family pressure, resource and navigational constraints, systemic obstacles, especially lack of a comprehensive domestic law in Dubai and their legal status as important barriers to their independence. These women found themselves in a state of quandary due to their temporary and dependent legal status in the country (the Kafala/sponsorship system)), patriarchal family laws, and/or rudimentary state of affairs in general. Implications: The research calls for attention not only to develop culturally specific intervention programs/services for South Asian women survivors of IPV (who fall through the cracks due to Dubai’s Family law under Sharia), but better understanding of the perspective of survivor of IPV, and improved policies to reinstate basic human rights of this vulnerable group in the light of ratification of the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) by Dubai.