Facilitation Two

Hildegarde Velasco
WST200 -- Gender & Power
Spring 2009
April 13th, 2009


Facilitation: “Domestic Violence and Asian American Women (2002),” Women’s Lives Multicultural Perspectives Fourth Edition, Lora Jo Foo, New York: McGraw-Hill, 2007, 273-279.

Key-words: individualism, tolerant, sexism, racism, homophobic, ostracize, coalition, disaggregate,

Key-phrases: institutional barriers, language capacity, social practices, “save face”, same-gender relationship violence,

Key-organizations: Asian Task Force against Domestic Violence, Apna Ghar, Manavi, Nav Nirmaan Foundation Inc., Raksha, Pragati, Sakhi, Asian Women’s Shelter (AWS), Asian Health Services, Boston Asian Task Force, National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, Asian and Pacific Islander Domestic Violence Institute

Key Ideas:

1. Cultural differences and laws contribute to the domestic violence problem for the Asian community. Language wise, the problem is often not interpreted because of language barriers. There are also laws that prevent some women from wanting to find help.
2. The need to “save face” and keep the family unit together is greater than individual needs. Women are encouraged by cultural norms to endure domestic violence to keep the reputation of their family.
3. Organizations are taking action to protect these women through legal matters and through changing the cultural norms.

Questions & Quotes:

1. Domestic violence is also gendered. Women are automatically assumed to be victims, and men are assumed to be the abusers. What happens to the men who are the victims? How would our culture perceive them, and would these help organizations reach out?
2. Could these social norms confining these women to these abusive relationships ever be changed? Is this idea of “saving face” and keeping the family together too rooted to change?

“Asian American women, the majority of whom are foreign-born immigrants with different languages and cultures, experience numerous institutional barriers to seeking safety.” (273)

“The notion of having to preserve the family and “save face” often makes Asian women more hesitant to leave and break up the family. Women in abusive marriages are frequently blamed for not behaving or told to tolerate the abuse in order to save face for the entire family or clan.” (276)

“Even when abused queer Asian women seek help, they find that the vast majority of domestic violence agencies are not able to meet their needs…The mainstream domestic violence movement understands violence as a patriarchal phenomenon, deriving from sexism, with men using violence to control women…women can be survivors and batterers.” (277)