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Constructions of 'Culture' in Accounts of South Asian Women Survivors of Sexual Violence.

Authors :
Ahmed, Bipasha
Reavey, Paula
Majumdar, Anamika
Source :
Feminism & Psychology; Feb2009, Vol. 19 Issue 1, p7-28, 22p
Publication Year :
2009

Abstract

The aim of this article is to explore some of the ways in which British South Asian women survivors of sexual violence (in particular, those who are either British born or have lived in the UK for most of their lives and are fluent English speakers) construct the effects of 'culture' within their accounts of sexually violent experiences. We present a discursive analysis based on semi-structured interviews with eight English-speaking women of South Asian origin living in the UK, who had either escaped from or were currently seeking help for sexual violence. Our analysis discusses how a discourse of 'culture as problematic and unchangeable' is both accepted and challenged simultaneously. Culture is presented as the reason why family and community members hold problematic views about sexually violent experiences. However, these women simultaneously resist this discourse through demonstrating their disappointment and ambivalence with their family and community-held views. Furthermore, we discuss how such constructions intersect (or not) with service provider constructions as reported in previous research. We also discuss the implications that our analysis may have for service provision and propose a set of theories and models that might inform them. This study forms part of a larger project on South Asian women's experiences of sexual violence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
09593535
Volume :
19
Issue :
1
Database :
Complementary Index
Journal :
Feminism & Psychology
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
36313864
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1177/0959353508098617