Addressing Wife Abuse in Mexican Immigrant Couples: Challenges for Family Social Workers

This article addresses wife abuse in undocumented Mexican immigrant couples and suggests an ecosystems treatment approach that takes into consideration the structural forces of oppression and discrimination on abusive behaviors in the home and combines individual, family and community level interventions to help immigrant men stop the abuse. Recognized are limitations on service provisions in rural communities and small towns where many “newly arrived” immigrants reside. Family service workers in these settings are encouraged to advocate for this population and create culturally competent domestic violence services that draw on formal and informal resources and supports in the social environment.