This paper presents a broad overview of the cross-cultural lit erature on the abuse of women by husbands or partners with emphasis on cross-cultural patterns and variations in the extent of violence against women in intimate relations, the effects of such violence, factors that place women at risk for abuse and the routes available to women to address such abuse. Implications for clinical and social responses to violence against women in intimate relations are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Abel, E.M. & Suh, E. (1987). Use of police services by battered women. Social Work, 32(6), 526-528.
2.
Ahn, H.N. & Gilbert, N. (1992). Cultural diversity and sexual abuse prevention . Social Service Review, 66(3), 410-427.
3.
Arias, I., Samios, M. & O'Leary, K.D. (1987). Prevalence and correlates of physical aggression during courtship. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 2, 82-90.
4.
Bhattacharyya, A.K. (1983). Child abuse in India and the nutritionally battered child. In R. Gelles & C.P. Cornell (Eds.),International perspectives on family violence (pp. 107-118). Toronto: D.C. Heath & Company.
5.
Breines, W. & Gordon, L. (1983). The new scholarship on family violence. Signs, 8(3), 490-531.
6.
Brown, J. (1992). Introduction: Definitions, assumptions, themes, and issues. In D.A. Counts, J. Brown & J. Campbell (Eds.), Sanctions and sanctuary: Cultural perspectives on the beating of wives (pp.1-18). Boulder: Westview Press, Inc.
7.
Burbank, V. (1992). Fight! Fight!: Men, women, and interpersonal aggression in an Australian Aboriginal community. In D.A. Counts, J. Brown & J. Campbell (Eds.), Sanctions and sanctuary: Cultural perspectives on the beating of wives (pp. 33-42). Boulder : Westview Press, Inc.
8.
Buzawa, E. & Austin, T. (1993). Determining police response to domestic violence victims. American Behavioral Scientist, 36(5), 610-623.
9.
Campbell, J. (1992a). Prevention of wife battering: Insights from cultural analysis. Response to the Victimization of Women & Children , 14(3), 18-24.
10.
Campbell, J. (1992b). Wife-battering: Cultural contexts versus western social sciences. In D.A. Counts, J. Brown & J. Campbell (Eds.), Sanctions and Sanctuary: Cultural Perspectives on the Beating of Wives (pp. 229-249). Boulder: Westview Press, Inc.
11.
CANADIAN ADVISORY COUNCIL ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN. (February 13, 1991). Male violence against women: The brutal face of inequality. A brief to the House of Commons Subcommittee on the Status of Women: Violence Against Women (Publication No. 91-S-175). Ottawa: Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women.
12.
Chin, K-L. (1994). Out-of-town brides: International marriage and wife abuse among Chinese immigrants. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 25(1), 53-70
13.
CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION CANADA. (June 1, 1994). Declaration in Refugee Protection for Women.
14.
Coley, S. & Beckett, J. (1988a). Black battered women: A review of empirical research . Journal of Counseling and Development, 66(6), 266-270.
15.
Coley, S. & Beckett, J. (1988b). Black battered women: Practice issues. Social Casework, 69(8), 483-490.
16.
Counts, D.A. (1987). Female suicide and wife abuse: A cross-cultural perspective. Suicide andLife Threatening Behavior, 17(3),194-204.
17.
Counts, D.A., Brown, J. & Campbell, J. (Eds.). (1992 ). Sanctions and sanctuary: Cultural perspectives on the beating of wives. Boulder: Westview Press, Inc.
18.
Crites, L. (1990). Cross-cultural counseling in wife beating cases . Response to the Victimization of Women and Children, 13(4), 8-12.
19.
Dekeseredy, W. & Hinch, R. (1991). Woman abuse: Sociological perspectives. Toronto: Thompson Educational Publishing, Inc.
20.
Desjarlais, R., Eisenberg, L., Good, B. & Kleinman, A. (1995). World mental health: Problems and priorities in low income countries. New York: Oxford University Press.
21.
Devasia, V.V. & Devasia, L. (1984). Victim-offender relationship in female homicide by male: A study conducted in Maharashtra. Indian Journal of Social Work, 45(3), 317-323.
22.
Dobash, R.E. & Dobash, R.P. (1983). Patterns of violence in Scotland. In R. Gelles & C.P. Cornell (Eds.), International perspectives on family violence (pp. 147-157). Toronto: D.C. Heath & Company.
23.
Dobash, R.E. & Dobash, R.P. (1987). The response of the British and American Women's Movements to violence against women. In J. Hanmer & M. Maynard (Eds.), Women, violence and social control (pp.169-179).Atlantic Highlands : Humanities Press International, Inc.
24.
Draper, P. (1992). Room to maneuver: !Kung women cope with men. In D.A. Counts, J. Brown & J. Campbell (Eds.), Sanctions and sanctuary: Cultural perspectives on the beating of wives (pp. 43-62). Boulder: Westview Press, Inc.
25.
Dutton, D. (1992). Theoretical and empirical perspectives on the etiology and prevention of wife assault. In R. DeV Peters, R. McMahon & V Quinsey (Eds.), Aggression and violence throughout the life span (pp. 192-221). Newbury Park: Sage Publications.
26.
Ellis, D. (1989). Male abuse of a married or cohabiting female partner: The application of sociological theory to research findings. Violence and Victims, 4,235-256.
27.
Ellis, D. (1992). Woman abuse among separated and divorced women: The relevance of social support. In E. Viano , (Ed.), Intimate violence: Interdisciplinary perspectives (pp.177-189). Philadelphia: Hemisphere Publishing Corporation.
28.
Ferraro, K. (1989). Policing woman battering. Social Problems, 36(1), 61-74. Flaherty, M. (1993). Family violence— An Inuit perspective. Vis-a-Vis: A National Newsletter on Family Violence, (Canadian Council on Social Development ), 10(4), 11.
29.
Follingstad, D., Neckerman, A.P. & Vormbrock, J. (1988). Reactions to victimization and coping strategies of battered women: The ties that bind. Clinical Psychology Review, 8, 373-390.
30.
Gallin, R. (1992). Wife abuse in the context of development and change: A Chinese (Taiwanese) case. In D.A. Counts , J. Brown & J. Campbell (Eds.), Sanctions and sanctuary: Cultural perspectives on the beating of wives (pp. 219-227.) Boulder: Westview Press, Inc.
31.
Gelles, R. (1993). Constraints against family violence. How well do they work?American Behavioral Scientist, 36(5), 575-586.
32.
Gelles, R. (1994). Introduction (Special Issue: Family Violence) . Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 25(1), 1-6.
33.
Gelles, R. & Cornell, C.P. (Eds.). (1983). International perspectives on family violence. Toronto: D.C. Heath and Company.
34.
Giller, B. (1991). All in the family: Violence in the Jewish home . Women and Therapy, 10(4), 101-109.
35.
Gilman, S.T. (1988).A history of the sheltering movement for battered women in Canada. Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health , 7(2), 9-21. Gondolf, E. & McFerron, J.R. (1989). Handling battering men: Police action in wife abuse cases. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 16(4), 429-439.
36.
Hahn, D. (1992). Soviet Jewish refugee women: Searching for security . Women and Therapy, 13(1/2), 79-87.
37.
Hampton, R. & Gelles, R. (1994). Violence toward Black women in a nationally representative sample of Black families. Journal of Comparative Family Studies , 24(1), 105-119.
38.
Haynes, R.H. (1984). Suicide in Fiji: A preliminary study. British Journal of Psychiatry, 145, 433-438.
39.
Heise, L. (1989). International dimensions of violence against women . Response to the Victimization of Women and Children, 12(1), 3-11.
40.
Heise, L. (1993). Violence against women: The missing agenda. In M. Koblinsky, J. Timyan & J. Gay (Eds.), The health of women: A global perspective (pp. 171-195). Boulder: Westview Press.
41.
Heise, L., Raikes, A., Watts, C. & Zwi, A. (1994). Violence against women: A neglected public health issue in less developed countries. Social Science Medicine , 39(9),1165-1179.
42.
Ho, C. (1990). An analysis of domestic violence in Asian American Communities: A multicultural approach to counselling. Women and Therapy, 9(1-2), 129-150.
43.
Ho, T-P. & Kwok, W-M. (1991). Child sexual abuse in Hong Kong. Child Abuse and Neglect, 15, 597-600.
44.
Jain, R. (1992). Familial violence in India: The dynamics of victimization . In E.C. Viano (Ed.), Critical issues in victimology: International perspectives (pp. 80-86). New York: Springer Publishing Company.
45.
Jang, D., Lee, D. & Morello-Frosch, R. (1990). Domestic violence in the immigrant and refugee community: Responding to the needs of immigrant women. Response to the Victimization of Women and Children, 13(4), 2-7.
46.
Johnson, I., Crowley, J. & Sigler, R. (1992). Agency response to domestic violence: Services provided to battered women. In E. Viano (Ed.), Intimate violence: Interdisciplinary perspectives. Philadelphia: Hemisphere Publishing Corporation.
47.
Kamateros, M. (1994). Family violence: A Greek perspective. Vis-a-Vis: A National Newsletter on Family Violence, 12(1). Ottawa: Canadian Council on Social Development.
48.
Kamerman, S. (1983). Eight countries: Cross-national perspectives on child abuse and neglect. In R. Gelles & C.P. Cornell (Eds.), International perspectives on family violence (pp. 63-71). Toronto: D.C. Heath & Company.
49.
Kerns, V. (1992). Preventing violence against women: A Central American case. In D.A. Counts, J. Brown & J. Campbell (Eds.), Sanctions and sanctuary: Cultural perspectives on the beating of wives (pp. 125-138.) Boulder: Westview Press, Inc.
50.
Kim, K-E. & Cho, Y-G. (1992) Epidemiological survey of spousal abuse in Korea . In E. Viano (Ed.), Intimate violence: Interdisciplinary perspectives (pp. 277-282). Philadelphia : Hemisphere Publishing Corporation.
51.
Kirmayer, L. & Robbins, J. (Eds.). (1991). Current concepts of somatization: Research and clinical perspectives. Washington: American Psychiatric Press.
52.
Kitahara, M. (1989). Childhood in Japanese culture. TheJournal of Psychohistory, 17(1), 43-72.
53.
Lambek, M. (1992). Like teeth biting tongue: The proscription and practice of spouse abuse in Mayotte. In D.A. Counts, J. Brown & J. Campbell (Eds.), Sanctions and sanctuary: Cultural perspectives on the beating of wives (pp. 157-172). Boulder: Westview Press, Inc.
54.
Lateef, S. (1992). Wife abuse among Indo-Fijians. In D.A. Counts, J. Brown & J. Campbell (Eds.), Sanctions and sanctuary: Cultural perspectives on the beating of wives (pp. 185-202). Boulder: Westview Press, Inc.
55.
Levinson, D. (1989). Family violence in cross-cultural perspective . Newbury Park: Sage Publications .
56.
Levinson, D. (1992) Forward. In D.A. Counts, J. Brown & J. Campbell (Eds.), Sanctions and sanctuary: Cultural perspectives on the beating of wives. Boulder : Westview Press, Inc.
57.
Lockhart, L. (1985). Methodological issues in comparative racial analyses: The case of wife abuse. Social Work Research and Abstracts , 21(2), 35-40.
58.
Lockhart, L. (1987). A reexamination of the effects of race and social class on the incidence of marital violence: A search for reliable differences . Journal of Marriage and the Family, 49(3),603-610.
59.
Lockhart, L. (1991). Spousal violence: A cross-racial perspective. In R.L. Hampton (Ed.), Black family violence: Current research and theory (pp. 85-102). Lexington, MA : Lexington Books.
60.
Lockhart, L. & White, B. (1989). Understanding marital violence in the black community . Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 4(4), 421-436.
61.
Mackenzie, D. (1985). Wife abuse: An overview of salient issues. Canadian Journal of Community Mental Health, 4(1), 65-79.
62.
Mackenzie, G., Balney, R., Chivers, A. & Vincent, O.E. (1993). The incidence of child sexual abuse in Northern Ireland. International Journal of Epidemiology, 22(2), 299-305.
63.
Macleod, L. (1987). Battered but not beaten: Preventing wife battering in Canada. Ottawa: Canadian Advisory Council on the Status of Women.
64.
Macleod, L. & Shin, M. (1990). Isolated, afraid and forgotten: The service delivery needs and realities of immigrant and refugee women who are battered. Ottawa: National Clearinghouse on Family Violence, Health and Welfare Canada.
65.
Macleod, L. & Shin, M. (1993). Like a wingless bird: A tribute to the survival and courage of women who are abused and who speak neither English nor French . Ottawa: National Clearinghouse on Family Violence, Health and Welfare Canada.
66.
Maracle, S. (1993). Family violence: Aboriginal perspectives. Vis-a-Vis: A National Newsletter on Family Violence, 10(4). Ottawa: Canadian Council on Social Development.
67.
Margolin, G. & Burman, B. (1993). Wife abuse versus marital violence: Different terminologies, explanations, and solutions. Clinical Psychology Review, 13(1), 59-73.
68.
Miller, B. (1992). Wife-beating in India: Variations on a theme. In D.A. Counts, J. Brown & J. Campbell (Eds.), Sanctions and sanctuary: Cultural perspectives on the beating of wives (pp. 173-184). Boulder: Westview Press, Inc.
69.
Mitchell, W. (1992). Why Wape men don't beat their wives: Constraints toward domestic tranquillity in a New Guinea society. In D.A. Counts, J. Brown & J. Campbell (Eds.), Sanctions and sanctuary: Cultural perspectives on the beating of wives (pp. 89-98). Boulder : Westview Press, Inc.
70.
Monture-Okanee, P. (1992). The violence we women do: A First Nations view . In C. Backhouse & D. Flaherly (Eds.), Challenging times: The women's movement in Canada and the United States. Montreal : McGill-Queen's Press.
71.
Morley, R. (1994). Wife beating and modernization: The case of Papua New Guinea. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 25(1), p. 25-52.
72.
Mushanga, T.M. (1983). Wife victimization in East and Central Africa . In R. Gelles & C.P. Cornell (Eds.), International perspectives on family violence (pp. 139-145). Toronto: D.C. Heath & Company.
73.
Nicarthy, G. (1989). From the sounds of silence to the roar of a global movement: Notes on the movement against violence against women. Response to the Victimization of Women and Children, 12(2), 3-10.
74.
Norton, I. & Manson, S. (1992). An association between domestic violence and depression among Southeast Asian refugee women. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 180(11), 729-730.
75.
Oats, R.K., Davis, A.A. & Ryan, M.G. (1983). Predictive factors for child abuse. In R. Gelles & C.P. Cornell (Eds.), International perspectives on family violence (pp. 97-106). Toronto: D.C. Heath and Company.
76.
Odujinrin, O. (1993). Wife battering in Nigeria. International Journal ofGynaecology and Obstetrics, 41(2), 159-164.
77.
Pirog-Good, M. & Stets, J. (1989). Violence in DatingRelationships. New York: Praeger.
78.
Prabhakar, S. (1991). Indian women in the vortex of dowry. Indian Journal of Social Research, 32(1), 24-38.
79.
Prasad, B.D. (1994). Dowry-related violence: A content analysis of news in selected newspapers. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 25(1), 71-89.
80.
Rao, K., Diclemente, R. & Ponton, L. (1992). Child sexual abuse of Asians compared with other populations. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 31(5), 880-886.
81.
RESPONSE STAFF. (1985). Responses to wife abuse in four western countries. Response to the Victimization of Women and Children, 8(2),15-18.
82.
Russell, M. (1988). Wife assault theory, research, and treatment: A literature review. Journal of Family Violence, 3(3), 193-208.
83.
Saunders, D., Villeponteaux, L., Lipovsky, J., Kilpatrick, D. & Veronen, L. (1992). Child sexual assault as a risk factor for mental health disorder among women: A community survey. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 7(2), 189-204.
84.
Savary, R. (1994). When racism meets sexism: Violence against immigrant and visible minority women. Vis-a-Vis: A National Newsletter on Family Violence , 12(1), Ottawa: Canadian Council on Social Development.
85.
Shamim, I. (1992). Dowry and women's status: A study of court cases in Dhaka and Delhi. In E. Viano (Ed.), Intimate violence: Interdisciplinary perspectives (pp. 265-275). Philadelphia: Hemisphere Publishing Corporation.
86.
Sherman, L., Smith, D., Schmidt, J. & Rogan, D. (1992). Crime, punishment, and stake in conformity: Legal and informal control of domestic violence. American Sociological Review, 57(5), 680-690.
87.
Singh, S. (1991). Violence against women in Indian society. Indian Journal of Social Research, 32(1), 55-62.
88.
Sinha, N. (Ed.) (1989). Women and violence. Jangpura, New Delhi: Vikas Publishing House PVT Ltd.
89.
Smith, M. (1990). Sociodemographic risk factors in wife abuse: Results from a survey of Toronto women. Canadian Journal of Sociology/ Cahiers canadiens de sociologie, 15(1), 39-58.
90.
Smith, S. & Hanson, R. (1983). 134 Battered children: A medical and psychological study. In R. Gelles & C.P. Cornell (Eds.), International perspectives on family violence ( pp. 83-96). Toronto: D.C. Heath and Company.
91.
Sorenson, S. & Telles, C. (1991). Self-reports of spousal violence in a Mexican-American and non-Hispanic white population. Violence and Victims, 6(1),3-15.
92.
Sperling, V. (1990). Rape and domestic violence in the USSR. Response to the Victimization of Women and Children, 13(3),16-22.
93.
Stark, E. (1993). Mandatory arrest ofbatterers: A reply to its critics . American Behavioral Scientist, 36(5), 651-680.
94.
Stark, E. & Flitcraft, A. (1991). Spouse abuse. In M. Rosenberg & M.A. Fenley (Eds.), Violence in America: A public health approach. New York: Oxford University Press.
95.
Stets, J. & Straus, M. (1989). The marriage license as a hitting license: A comparison of assaults in dating, cohabiting, and married couples. Journal of Family Violence, 4, 161-180.
96.
Sullivan, C., BASTA, J., TAN, C. & DAVIDSON, W. (1992a).After the crisis: A needs assessment of women leaving a domestic violence shelter. Violence and Victims, 7(3), 267-275.
97.
Sullivan, C. & Davidson, W. (1991). The provision of advocacy services to women leaving abusive partners: An examination of short-term effects. American Journal of Community Psychology, 19(6), 953-960.
98.
Sullivan, C., Tan, C., Basta, J., Rumptz, M. & Davidson, W. (1992b). An advocacy intervention program for women with abusive partners: Initial evaluation. American Journal of Community Psychology, 20(3), 309-332.
99.
Taylor, I. (1991). For better or for worse: Caring and the abused wife. In C. Baines, P. Evans & S. Neysmith (Eds.), Women's caring: Feminist perspectives on social welfare. Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, Inc.
100.
Taylor, L. & Newberger, E. (1983). Child abuse in the International Year of the Child . In R. Gelles & C.P. Cornell (Eds.), International perspectives on family violence (pp. 45-62). Toronto: D.C. Heath & Company. Thorne-Finch , R. (1992). Ending the silence: The origins and treatment of male violence against women . Toronto: University of Toronto Press.
101.
Tifft, L. (1993). Battering of women: The failure of intervention and the case for prevention. Boulder: Westview Press.
102.
Torres, S. (1987). Hispanic-American battered women: Why consider cultural differences? Response to the Victimization of Women and Children, 10(3), 20-21.
103.
Torres, S. (1991). A comparison of wife abuse between two cultures: Perceptions, attitudes, nature, and extent. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 12(1), 113-131.
104.
Turner, S.F. & Shapiro, C.H. (1986). Battered women: Mourning the death of a relationship . Social Work, 31(5), 372-376.
105.
Ulrich, Y.C. (1989). Cross-cultural perspective on violence against women. Response to the victimization of Women and Children , 12(1), 21-23. United Nations. (1989). Violence against women in the family. New York: United Nations Publication.
106.
Van Willigen, J. & Channa, V.C. (1991). Law, custom, and crimes against women: The problems of dowry death in India. Human Organization, 50(4), 369-377.
107.
Viano, E. (1992). Violence among intimates: Major issues and approaches . In E. Viano (Ed.), Intimate violence: Interdisciplinary perspectives (pp. 3-12). Philadelphia: Hemisphere Publishing Corporation.
108.
Vogelman, L. & Eagle, G. (1991). Overcoming endemic violence against women in South Africa. Social Justice, 18(1-2), 209-229.
109.
Warshaw, C. (1989). Limitations of the medical model in the care of battered women. Gender & Society, 3(4), 506-517.
110.
WOMEN & THERAPY, 13(1/2), 1992. Special issue. Refugee women and their mental health: Shattered societies, shattered lives.
111.
Yuan, L.M. (1990). Child sexual abuse in West China. American Journal of Psychiatry,147(2), 258.
