Domestic Violence in Cross-border Marriage - A Case Study from Taiwan

This paper is concerned with the incidence of domestic violence among women in cross-border marriage, and uses Taiwan as a case study to illustrate some issues that make migrant women vulnerable to violence in the home. Throughout, we use the example of Taiwan to describe a gendered form of migration that is now a global phenomenon, and we use the phrase ‘women in cross-border marriage‘ to identify women whose migration to Taiwan has been facilitated by marriage to Taiwanese citizens. We also look at the intersection between domestic violence and cross-border marriage migration, and discuss how the experiences of domestic violence for migrant women may differ from the experiences of women in general. We consider the experience of migration as a risk factor for domestic violence and, finally, consider some issues for services working with women in cross-border marriage and look at some of the ways Taiwan has developed services to meet the needs of migrant women.