The voices and experiences of immigrant and refugee
women in Canada have been conspicuously absent from policy
issues, programme planning, and mental health literature.
However, more immigrant and refugee women than men, from
traditional cultures, are considered to have mental health
needs, because of risk factors such as stress at the time of
migration, and because of Canadian policies and programmes
which disadvantage them. This study explores from the
consumers perspective the reasons for disparate mental
health service utilization between South Asian and Latin
American women in Vancouver.
Using a cross-sectional, exploratory, case study
approach, and a feminist perspective, ten South Asian and
ten Latin American women who have used mental health
services were interviewed in depth. Sixty percent of the
participants were survivors of violence and torture. Five
Latin American women were survivors of pre-migration
catastrophic stress. Their mental health needs were
characterised by traumatic experiences, grieving and
depression. Except for the three who were married, they had
no traditional support networks. In contrast with the South
Asian group they appeared to have less shame and covert
behaviour. Mental illness, considered a ‘house secret’, carries
great stigma in the South Asian community, and has serious
ramifications for the immediate as well as the extended
family. Among South Asian participants seven had been
subjected to wife battering, and four of their spouses had a
substance abuse problem. Their mental health needs were
also triggered by traumatic experiences, grieving and
depression. The more established South Asian women had
extended family living in Vancouver, yet social support was
still lacking.
Having ‘no one to turn to’ was a pervasive theme across
both groups of women; their experiences characterised by
loss. Analysis of data exploring the decision to use
services illustrates stages in a process of recovery from
experienced violence.
Post migration domestic violence and pre-migration
violence have devastating, life-shattering consequences
which require culturally sensitive interventions by social
workers and other health care professionals. An obligatory
stage in the clinical intervention process is to explore the
issue of violence. Finally, policy decisions which impact
upon women from ethnocultural communities in Canada must
embrace a philosophy which considers well-trained,
culturally-sensitive, linguistically—competent workers a
priority.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:BVAU.2429/3338 |
| Date | 05 1900 |
| Creators | Johnson, M. Audrey |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Relation | UBC Retrospective Theses Digitization Project [http://www.library.ubc.ca/archives/retro_theses/] |
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