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“This Should Not Be Happening in This Country”: Private‐Life Violence and Immigration Intersections in a U.S. Gateway City
Author(s) -
Pearce Susan C.,
Sokoloff Natalie J.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
sociological forum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.937
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1573-7861
pISSN - 0884-8971
DOI - 10.1111/socf.12052
Subject(s) - immigration , sociology , gateway (web page) , intersectionality , gender studies , ethnic group , diversity (politics) , face (sociological concept) , domestic violence , criminology , political science , poison control , law , suicide prevention , social science , anthropology , world wide web , computer science , medicine , environmental health
In the United States, the rise in ethnic diversity due to immigration in recent decades has been most visible in new “gateway” cities and towns, such as the Baltimore–Washington, D.C. corridor, now the fourth‐largest gateway for new immigration. Among the more grave issues that immigrant women face in these gateways and elsewhere is the experience of intimate partner violence. This article reports on a study using qualitative methods to document the problem, approaches, and challenges in the rapidly diversifying city of Baltimore, Maryland. We report on individual and focus‐group interviews with professionals in 10 agencies who work directly with the Baltimore populations. Drawing on intersectionality theory, we propose a conceptual framework that disaggregates the location of “immigration” into four components: contexts of exit, contexts of reception, racial and class hierarchies, and culture. The study's results problematize cultural essentialist models and raise questions about current U.S. legal systems regarding immigration.