Good women, martyrs and survivors: a theoretical framework for South Asian women's responses to partner violence

This paper analyses select psychological and social models to provide a new theoretical framework for South Asian women subjected to partner violence. It focuses on women’s help-seeking behaviours and efforts to end violence. Analysis of the stress coping paradigm, the ecological model and the trans-theoretical approach indicates the possibility of integrating their core constructs of cognitive, contextual and stages elements to provide a process-orientated model for South Asia. Each model is reviewed from a Sri Lankan clinical perspective to discuss its relevance to South Asian women’s experience with, and responses to, violence. This initial theoretical framework will need to undergo further comprehensive theorising, and rigorous empirical testing in different South Asian countries to assess its validity.