What is it?

Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior in a relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control. Domestic violence may include physical and sexual violence, threats and intimidation, emotional abuse, and economic deprivation.

What’s the impact?

Domestic violence is a national epidemic in the United States, and immigrant women and girls are disproportionately impacted.

A constellation of factors make this population especially vulnerable, including reliance on abusers for legal immigration status or limited knowledge of the English language.

Studies show that immigrant women and girls in the United States may be twice as likely to experience domestic violence than the general population, and they’re less likely to leave their abusers due to fear of immigration consequences, such as being deported and separated from children.

What protections are available?

After decades of dogged advocacy, domestic violence is now nationally recognized as a crime, and special protections for acutely vulnerable immigrant women and girls have been established. Tahirih has a staff of attorneys who are experts in these protections.

Learn more about what we’re doing to address the unique vulnerability of immigrant women and girls to domestic violence, and to preserve and enhance hard-won legal protections for survivors.