Leaving abusive relationships can be harder for migrant women. Here’s what they need to feel safe

FG Trade/Getty Like many women raised in traditional cultures and religious contexts, I was taught that a “good” woman holds the family together.

In my culture, women were often glorified for quietly accepting hardship.

As a highly educated, financially independent and well-informed professional, admitting I had lived in an abusive relationship for a long time felt shameful and felt like a personal defeat.

Seeking help felt like exposing weakness and vulnerability.

As a researcher in mental wellbeing, I now understand my experience was not unique.

One in four Australian women has experienced violence from an intimate partner since the age of 15.

Women from migrant and refugee backgrounds face an even greater risk .

Official data among migrant and refugee communities in Australia remains limited.

But a 2020 national survey of about 1,400 migrant and refugee women found one in three had experienced domestic violence in the previous five years.

Stigma, financial dependence, fears of social exclusion and community acceptance of abuse can make it much harder for some women to get the support they need.

The hidden face of abuse Intimate partner violence does not always or only involve physical harm.

A less visible but often equally devastating aspect is coercive control.

This involves a pattern of behaviours designed to dominate another person.

It can involve intimidation, surveillance, financial control, emotional abuse, isolation and gradually removing their autonomy.