Publication Date
5-1-2005
Document Type
Article
Organizational Units
Sturm College of Law
Keywords
domestic violence; immigrant women; restorative justice
Abstract
This article focuses on the particular cultural factors that affect South Asian women who are abused and immigrant South Asian women who are abused, in particular, in the restorative justice process. By exploring cultural practices and the icon of Sita, the mythological heroine of the Ramayana, this article demonstrates how the South Asian ideals of womanhood and wifehood help to create a mind-set whereby South Asian women are reluctant to advocate for themselves and are reluctant to leave. Such a condition is contrary to the conditions and abilities assumed by the restorative justicemovement for dispute resolution, inside or outside of domestic violence. It is concluded that restorative justice options are ill-suited to application among immigrant South Asian communities for domestic violence cases.
Publication Statement
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This article was originally published as Rashmi Goel, Sita's Trousseau: Restorative Justice, Domestic Violence, and South Asian Culture, 11 Violence Against Women 639 (2005).
Volume
11
First Page
639
Recommended Citation
Rashmi Goel, Sita's Trousseau: Restorative Justice, Domestic Violence, and South Asian Culture, 11 Violence Against Women 639 (2005).
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