Addressing Domestic Violence in Immigrant Communities: Critical Issues for Culturally Competent Services

Immigrant women are a diverse group of women from different socio-cultural and economic backgrounds and with individual histories and biographies. At the same time, as immigrant women, they may share certain experiences and everyday realities. These differences and similarities among immigrant women pose challenges in addressing domestic violence in immigrant communities and highlight the importance of culturally competent services to immigrant survivors.

Knowledge of domestic violence in immigrant communities can be a useful guide in developing and implementing culturally competent services. However, relatively little research exists on domestic violence in immigrant communities.