Domestic violence overlooked in Asian families

The charity has launched a report arguing police, health, education and social services can sometimes ignore the needs of Asian children who are being abused, on the grounds of respecting Asian culture. They can also feel unqualified to deal with these victims and need specialist training so they can handle cultural issues better, the charity has said.

The research involved interviews with social workers and young Asian people and an analysis of calls made by Asians to the NSPCC about domestic violence, as well as a literature review.

The study found Asians were brought up to believe family honour and public image was more important than safety and any family problems should be kept secret.

Social workers also reported that some Asian perpetrators of violence used their culture and religion to justify their abuse and control their victims.

Saleha Islam, NSPCC's Asian Helpline manager, said: "Asian children and their mothers can suffer the double injustice of a community that would rather save face than deal with domestic violence and a system that lacks cultural understanding, so hides behind political correctness."

Head of policy and public affairs, Diana Sutton, added: "We want to see the government train and support professionals working with Asian victims of domestic violence so they can handle cultural sensitivities better."

The charity is also calling for more Asians, including interpreters, to be recruited to work with Asian victims of domestic violence.

The report can be downloaded from www.nspcc.org.uk/inform.

Later this week the Home Affairs Committee will report findings from its inquiry into government attempts to tackle domestic violence.