Healthcare providers are in a unique position to identify and respond to family violence faced by South Asian women, but they confront many barriers.
These barriers include a lack of understanding about the culture, social context and perspectives of their South Asian women patients.
Family violence is often considered a private issue by victims, who fear judgement, shame and family dishonour if they reveal abuse when they access healthcare.
The Women’s conducted a series of eight studies that included 229 doctors, nurses, midwives, medical students and health workers from Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka, using medical databases that generated 6,685 results.
The research aimed to identify strategies for reducing family violence and improving the health and well-being of South Asian women living in Australia and South Asia (Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Maldives).
Lead Researcher Dr Surriya Baloch said the qualitative research underlined the risks to personal safety faced by healthcare providers who intervene in South Asian family violence cases.
Some revealed they had been targeted by survivor families.
“The study provides us with an understanding of the complexity of sociocultural factors associated with identification and response to family violence against these women,” Dr Baloch said.
Professor Hegarty said the stigma associated with abuse can often mask family violence, but “antenatal healthcare workers, in particular, are vital in identifying and supporting survivors”.
“Our research will help to find innovative solutions for strengthening antenatal screening for family violence,” Professor Hegarty said.
A second systematic review is underway and has found that South Asian family violence survivors want to be understood by their healthcare providers so they can seek help