Barriers and Facilitators of Help-Seeking Among Asian Women Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence in the United States: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Asian women survivors of intimate partner violence (IPV) often face compound challenges in addressing abuse and its negative consequences. While prior reviews have identified barriers to help-seeking, fewer have examined the factors that facilitate help-seeking. The current scoping review addresses this gap by synthesizing findings from 33 empirical studies published between 2003 and 2024 that explore the help-seeking experiences of Asian women IPV survivors in the United States. The review indicates that help-seeking is a non-linear, iterative process; the individuals or systems that survivors initially approach can significantly influence their subsequent actions. The reviewed studies suggest that women’s help-seeking typically begins with recognizing that IPV is occurring and acknowledging it as an issue that needs to be addressed. When survivors seek support, facilitators include supportive informal and formal networks, as well as human and social capital, such as English proficiency, having U.S. citizenship or permanent residency, and transportation and financial independence. Once survivors engage with services, it is crucial that these services are comprehensive, bilingual, and culturally responsive. Survivor strengths, including self-efficacy, personal aspiration, and self-care practices, also play a critical role in fostering resilience. Implications focus on improving responses to IPV among informal networks and formal systems, including increasing IPV awareness through evidence-based tools, developing community-based strategies to transform social networks into sources of support, attuning interventions to survivors’ help-seeking readiness, and ensuring services are linguistically and culturally appropriate.