Scoping Review on the Utilization of the Violence Against Women Act By Immigrant Survivors

Background: Domestic violence (DV) is a public health crisis that impacts individuals, locally, nationally, and globally. While DV can affect everyone, the impact on immigrants is distinct. Scholars suggest that about 41% of women compared to 26% of men experience lifetime domestic violence victimization. While these numbers are for the general population of the United States, it is noteworthy to state that about 14% of the total population comprises of immigrants. Abuse rates are comparatively higher for immigrants compared to non-immigrants. The Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is one of the main remedial provisions for survivors of DV to seek legal relief.

Methods: The goal of this scoping review is to examine the use of VAWA with immigrants in the United States, and the gaps associated with the implementation of VAWA. Our main research question was, “How has the Violence Against Women Act been utilized with immigrants in the United States?” Given the broad purpose of our study, a scoping review methodology as elucidated by Arskey and O’Malley (2006) was utilized. The inclusion criteria for this scoping review were: (a) peer-reviewed articles, (b) written in English, and (c) articles that were conceptual or empirical in nature. We utilized the following databases for our search: Academic Search Complete, APA PsycArticles, APA PsycInfo, Social Work Abstracts, Women’s Studies International and Criminal Justice Abstracts. To keep our search broad, we use these keywords, “Violence against women act” OR VAWA AND “IMMIGRA.*” Covidence software was utilized for data management and extraction. This scoping review was conducted in September 2023 and the initial search yielded a total of 143 articles. The interrater reliability among the two screeners was at an acceptable level of 96.5%.

Results: This scoping review included seven articles published from 2008 to 2019. Study locations included California, Arizona, Maryland and Washington. Findings from the review highlight that a large number of immigrant survivors are not aware of VAWA. Of those who utilized VAWA, the challenges faced by immigrant survivors include re-traumatization when engaging with the process, fear of deportation, adverse experiences with service providers and law enforcement, and demonstrating that they were “good enough victims” who cooperate with law enforcement. Additionally, immigrant survivors report long wait times for processing work authorization and difficulty accessing public benefits even when entitled to them. One of the major challenges about utilizing the VAWA was the uncertainty in the process and limited knowledge of accessing the remedial provisions of the VAWA.

Implications: Based on the results of this scoping review, there is a need to provide training protocols for service providers and law enforcement, reduce the length of U-visa wait times, and expedite work authorization and access to benefits for eligible survivors. It is essential to develop VAWA informational modules in diverse languages so immigrants can better comprehend the legislation. It is vital for several stakeholders – researchers, providers, law enforcement and judicial officials to partner in order to enhance the applicability of the VAWA for immigrant survivors.