Family Violence and Child Sexual Abuse Among South Asians in the U.S

Background/Significance: Family violence, including child sexual abuse (CSA), is a significant public health problem in the United States. It has been particularly difficult to assess violence among South Asians (SA) in the U.S. due to the model minority myth and a lack of data on this ethnic population.

Objective/Purpose: Despite what is known in South Asian countries, little is known about family violence and CSA among the growing population of SAs in the U.S.  To that extent, a quantitative survey of SA adults living in the U.S. was conducted to better understand the relationships between family violence, CSA, and suicide ideation/attempt.

Methods: Over four hundred SAs living in the U.S. were surveyed about their history of sexual violence, exposure to family violence, and suicide ideation.  Descriptive analyses were performed to explore relationships between socio-demographic characteristics, suicide ideation/attempts, and violence-related  variables. A logistic multivariate regression model for any CSA examined other violence, suicide ideation and attempt and adjusted for gender and U.S. born.

Results: One-fourth (25.2%) of the sample reported experiencing CSA; 13.8% reported sexual abuse involving exposure; 21.5% reported sexual abuse involving touching; 4.5% reported experiencing attempted sexual intercourse; and 3.5% reported experiencing actual sexual intercourse.  Adjusted odds ratios found that participants who reported any relationship violence were significantly more likely to have experienced CSA (OR 2.28; CI 1.26-4.13); and suicide attempt was significantly associated with CSA (OR 3.96; CI 1.27-12.3).

Discussion/Conclusions: The present study’s findings are important as multivariate analyses found significant relationships between CSA and relationship violence and suicide attempt.   The findings presented here must guide future research, policy, and practice.