“This is a man’s
man s problem
problem”:: Strategies for working with South
Asian male perpetrators of intimate partner violence.
Gary Thandi, MSW & Bethan Lloyd, PhD

RESEARCH GOAL:

DISCUSSION:

To determine and develop strategies for implementing
more effective prevention and intervention strategies for
male perpetrators of intimate partner violence in South
Asian communities in Greater Vancouver,, the Fraser Valleyy
and other regions of British Columbia.

“This is a man’s problem” - The men are fully responsible
for the violence they perpetrate. As they frequently
reconcile with the victim, improving the intervention with
y reduce recidivism and mayy increase the
the men may
safety of the woman and her children.

This standpoint research provided:

An intersectionality approach, one that considers
intersecting factors of patriarchal attitudes and role
expectations, substance use, immigration experience and
marginalization, can help us better understand the
experiences of the men
men.

• the opportunity to learn not only about the male
perpetrators from the standpoint of front-line workers who
intervene with them in the minutes
minutes, days and months
following an incident of intimate partner violence;
• the opportunity to learn more about the victims/survivors
and their children and;
• it solicited the participants’ opinions, based on their
experiences, of what they consider are effective
“
intervention and prevention strategies in reducing
RESULTS (continued)
intimate partner violence in South Asian communities
communities.

METHODS
Qualitative Interviews with 17 front-line practitioners from
South Asian Canadian communities; 2 focus groups with
S th Asian
South
A i male
l perpetrators
t t
off intimate
i ti t partner
t
violence
i l
in group programs.
17 Interviews were audiotaped and coded using NVivo

RESULTS
“THEY DID NOT WANT TO DO THIS” – But
B t they
th did!
Learning cultural male privilege from birth; “It’s up to me”:
Gender role expectations; co-occurrence of Alcohol abuse.

“MARRIAGE IS NOT JUST ABOUT THE TWO OF THEM”
Extended family involvement / over-involvement; Sponsorship
and family support obligations; the stigma of divorce.
“I WANT MY FAMILY BACK.” After violence occurs, the
overwhelming majority of the men and women want to
reconcile; efforts required to reduce the “gap
gap from the time the
incident happened, to the intervention”: a need to strengthen
criminal justice system interventions.
COMMUNITY-BASED PREVENTION: “Work on those kinds of
problems before they become problems”: Pre-marital
counseling / education; Outreach through media, forums, premigration education, education in schools; Arranged marriage
compatibility versus bringing someone to Canada; Men and
elders’ role in the anti-violence movement.

RECOMMENDATIONS:
• The development and delivery of culturally appropriate
education, training and professional development for
frontline practitioners;
• A domestic violence court designed to meets the needs of
all BC families and communities;
• A provincial commitment to fund sufficient mandated
programs for perpetrators and to fund parallel programs
for their partners;
• South Asian community initiatives that focus on premarital education for couples and their extended family
members;
b
• Community-based programs that address the challenges
of the immigration and acculturation process including
underemployment and discrimination, issues of Canadian
family law and laws concerning violence, cultural norms
concerning relationships (including marriage and
parenting) .

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:

We would like to acknowledge the
financial support provided by the Centre for the Prevention and Reduction
of Violence and the R. Howard Webster Foundation.

JUSTICE INSTITUTE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA