Type:	Journal Article
Title:	Blaming and reclaiming culture: the role of culture in responding to domestic and family violence
Other Titles:	DVIRC Quarterly
Authors:	Morris, Belinda
Keywords:	Representations of women;Refugee communities;CALD (culturally and linguistically diverse);Cross-cultural
Year:	2007
Publisher:	Domestic Violence & Incest Resource Centre
Citation:	4, Summer 2007
Notes:	General Overview: Reporting on a national Australian seminar on culture and domestic violence, convened by a range of Melbourne-based domestic violence and women’s services in October 2007, this article provides an overview of key issues raised. Discussion: Convened with support from the City of Melbourne, speakers included representatives of the Islamic Women’s Welfare Council, the Immigrant Women’s Domestic Violence Service, the Victorian Department of Human Services and the Victorian Domestic Violence Resource Centre. Professor Leti Volpp, international expert on feminism, multiculturalism and law, presented the keynote address. Key issues covered by the speakers included: the dangers of using culture as a defence against violence and the complex interplay between sexism and racism in the context of domestic violence; the tendency towards stereotyping minority cultures as universally violent while viewing incidents of domestic violence in mainstream culture as individual bad behaviour; the importance of culture when working with children affected by family violence; the invisibility of ethnicity and the culture of blaming women for violence prevalent in mainstream representations of domestic violence; the role of language and culture in men’s programs; and the difficulties presented by cross-cultural practice and cultural sensitivity in domestic violence service provision. All speakers agreed that while there is a need to understand the impact of culture on domestic violence and for cultural sensitivity in working with survivors and perpetrators of violence, the underlying issues of power and dominance and the impacts of violence on women and children are the same regardless of culture and that culture is never an excuse for violence.
URI:	https://anrows.intersearch.com.au/anrowsjspui/handle/1/13644
ISSN:	1324-4264
Appears in Collections:	Journal Articles

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