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For These South Asian Women In The US, Lockdown Has Led To Increased Domestic Violence

The South Asian community has traditionally battled high levels of domestic abuse. Community-based surveys by University of Wyoming professor Neely Mahapatra in 2012 and University of California, San Diego, professors Anita Raj and Jay G Silverman in 2002 found that nearly 40% of South Asian women in the US experienced intimate partner violence. Based on the 2018 American Community Survey, Indians make up over 80% of South Asians in the US, alongside people who trace their heritage to Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

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Organisations working with battered women from the South Asian diaspora estimate their number to be much higher. They say there is large-scale underreporting because of a culture of shame, guilt and duty. Social and language barriers, and legal and financial dependency on husbands, families and male partners also contribute to underreporting, they point out.