Programme
Shanta Kanukollu
Graduate Student
Women's Studies
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
E/ snishik@umich.edu
"Pure" Woman ideal and the Silencing of Sexually Abused Women:
Clinical Implications
(w/ Ram Mahalingam)
A recent study in the city of Chennai on the sexual abuse of adolescent girls, about 50% of the study participants reported some form sexual abuse ranging from inappropriate touch to sexual intercourse either by a relative or by a family acquaintance. Recent Tamil novels and short stories (e.g., Uma Maheswari's Marapachi, Pudiya Madavi's Minsara Rail) also depict young female characters who are sexually abused by family members or by acquaintances. Movies, such as Monsoon Wedding, also discuss the role of sexual abuse among Indian diaspora. However, research on this topic among Tamil diaspora has been very sparse. Very few studies have looked at how sexual abuse in Tamil diaspora has been dealt or about providing social support, or setting safeguards to prevent sexual abuse. By and large Indian immigrant community, particularly Tamil immigrant community, perceives sexual abuse as something more characteristic of the "low moral standards" of the American society. In this paper we examine the relationship between the discourse about idealized images of "pure" Tamil woman, who is chaste and virtuous and the "victim blaming" and silencing of young women who are silenced by the family and the immigrant community. The paper is in three parts. The first part contextualizes the "pure" woman ideal among Tamil immigrants in relation to the model minority status of Indian immigrants in the United States. Using qualitative interviews and popular narratives, the second part will identify the specific contextual and cultural antecedents to sexual abuse of young Tamil men and women. The third will explore the clinical implications of experience of sexual abuse and will argue for the need for community based interventions and support networks to help victims of to cope with the trauma of their sexual abuse.
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Ms. Kanukollu is pursuing her doctoral studies where her research and clinical
interests focus is on the mental health of South Asian immigrant families. More
specifically, her focus is on the impact of parenting styles, the Model Minority
Myth and gender on the mental health outcomes of adolescents within this
cultural context. Additionally, she is interested in working with victims of
sexual abuse and domestic violence in the South Asian community to understand
risk and protective factors within the family and community to better inform
current research and clinical work in this realm of psychology and to provide
culturally-competent clinical services.