Australia
Good Shepherd Australian New Zealand and InTouch Multicultural Centre Against Family Violence, Submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs: The practice of dowry and the incidence of dowry abuse in Australia, 16 August 2018.
This submission observes that dowry practices differ between South Asian and North African communities in Australia: in South Asian communities it is characterised by gifts from the wife’s family to the husband’s family; in North African communities it is characterised by gifts from the husband’s family to the wife’s family.
It observes that Indian laws recognised dowry as “a key factor that underpins domestic violence”. “The practice of dowry does however have the potential to become exploitative and harmful when it is practised in a way that involves force, fraud, coercion, threats and violence (sexual, physical and psychological).” It recommends dowry abuse be included in definitions of family violence in Australia.
Harmony Alliance. Emerging insights from our national survey on dowry abuse. Canberra: Harmony Alliance, 2020.
This paper highlights significant findings from their national survey on dowry abuse, noting respondents were overall very familiar with the practice of dowry and abusive behaviours linked to dowry demands. Most common behaviours connected to dowry demands were verbal abuse, humiliation and controlling behaviours. Other examples identified included murder, reproductive control, child abuse, threats of deportation, family insult and use of family court proceedings against the woman.
O’Connor, M., ‘Dowry-related domestic violence and complex posttraumatic stress disorder: a case report’ (2017) 25(4) Australasian Psychiatry 351-353.
This paper highlights the mental health impact of coercive dowry demands, drawing on a specific case study of a South Asian migrant woman whose husband was dissatisfied with her dowry and inflicted significant emotional and physical trauma as a result. His dissatisfaction with the dowry was found to be a principal reason for the abuse, violence and threats perpetrated against his wife. Although the author acknowledges that the exact prevalence of dowry-related domestic violence is uncertain in Australia, it is proposed that the problem is substantial, especially given that two dowry-related murders have been reported in Victoria.
O’Connor, M and Lee, A. The health impacts of dowry abuse on South Asian communities in Australia, Med J Aust 2022; 216 (1): 11-13. || doi: 10.5694/mja2.51358
This article considers the health impacts of dowry abuse particular to the Indian-born Australian population including family violence and associated mental harm.
“Abuse associated with dowry includes controlling and coercive behaviour by the husband and his family who pressure, threaten or demand substantial gifts from the woman and her family in the context of the marriage. Among migrant communities in Australia, dowry abuse can manifest in demands for gold jewellery, white goods, gifts, or cash to start a business or buy a house. Refusal to comply with demands for dowry may be associated with threats, violence, verbal harassment, criticism and abandonment. A series of high profile family violence murders in Australia in the Indian community in 2012–2016 were in part related to dowry issues.”
The article refers to the results of the Harmony Alliance 2020 national survey on dowry abuse in which respondents identified behaviours connected with dowry demands:
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verbal abuse (85% of respondents);
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humiliation (77%); and
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controlling behaviour (77%).
32% of respondents reported either experiencing dowry abuse themselves or knowing someone who had.
O’Connor, M., et al., 2019, Understanding Dowry and Dowry Abuse in Australia, AustralAsian Centre for Human Rights and Health.
Dowry-related violence may be exacerbated by a victim’s immigration status. The Family Violence Response Centre reports that their staff observed that women were less likely to report abuse because of their precarious living situation; work restrictions and ineligibility for government support payments; the isolation of living in a new country; and the fear of deportation to their home country and associated feelings of shame. Women who did seek help, however, have encountered barriers because there is limited understanding and awareness among police, social workers and the legal profession about what dowry is, how it is practiced, and how it can be linked to family violence.
Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists, Submission 9 to The Senate, Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee enquiry into the Practice of dowry and the incidence of dowry abuse in Australia.
The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists have observed that culturally and linguistically diverse women found it difficult to recognise the abuse and seek help due to, for example, fears of cultural and social isolation, and pressures from within the community to maintain the family unit (p4).
safe steps Family Violence Response Centre, Submission 14 to The Senate, Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee enquiry into the Practice of dowry and the incidence of dowry abuse in Australia.
The Family Violence Response Centre reports that their staff observed that women were less likely to report abuse because of their precarious living situation; work restrictions and ineligibility for government support payments; the isolation of living in a new country; and the fear of deportation to their home country and associated feelings of shame. (p8)
The Senate, Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee, 2019, Practice of dowry and the incidence of dowry abuse in Australia.
In June 2018, the Australian Senate remitted an inquiry into the nature of dowry as a cultural practice and the incidence of dowry abuse in Australia to the Legal and Constitutional Affairs References Committee. The Final Report of the Practice of Dowry and the Incidence of Dowry Abuse in Australia was delivered on 14 February 2019. The Committee aimed to explore the practice of dowry and the adequacy of current Australian policy frameworks regarding dowry abuse. The Report, however, did not explicitly define ‘dowry’, which presented issues in relation to collecting and presenting evidence.
The Report’s main objectives were to explore inter alia:
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the extent, nature and prevalence of dowry in Australia, both before and after marriage;
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reports of dowry abuse, including potential links to family violence, slavery and financial abuse;
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links between dowry, dowry abuse and forced marriage; and
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the adequacy of the family law system, including how divorce and property settlement proceedings deal with dowry and dowry abuse.
It outlined 12 recommendations to government to address dowry abuse in Australia. Although the Report did not propose to criminalise the practice of dowry in its entirety, it did recommend an approach that recognises dowry abuse as economic abuse within the context of family violence, and suggested that it be included in the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth).
Segrave, M., and Vidal, L., ‘Dowry abuse: it's a growing problem in Australia, but new laws aren't the answer’ (2019) Monash University Lens.
The authors explore legislative frameworks surrounding dowry abuse and argue that “a key response must be to implement effective legislation covering economic abuse more generally, rather than singling out certain cultural practices”. Quantifying the practice of dowry in Australia, and the extent to which it is used as a form of abuse or coercion, is difficult; however, it does exist among certain Australian communities, and the need to implement measures addressing it are only recently being considered. The authors also refer to the Report, Practice of dowry and the incidence of dowry abuse in Australia, and a joint submission noting “the slippage between dowry abuse, arranged and forced marriage and the absence of a clear definition of dowry abuse (given the many forms of payments that occur in the context of marriage, including dowry, dower, bride price, bride service)”.
International
Anitha, S., Yalamarty, H., Roy, A. (2018) ‘Changing nature and emerging patterns of domestic violence in global contexts: Dowry abuse and the transnational abandonment of wives in India’, Women’s Studies in International Forum 69:67-75 doi: 10.1016/j.wsif.2018.05.005
Based on life-history narratives of 57 women in India and 21 practitioner interviews, this paper documents a growing phenomenon whereby men who are resident in another country abuse their Indian-origin wives, appropriate their dowry and abandon them. While dowry-related abuse in such marriages is part of a continuum of domestic violence prevalent in South Asia and the South Asian diaspora, we explore how gender and migration intersect to exacerbate existing forms of violence against women and foster new forms of violence such as transnational abandonment. Gender-blind transnational formal-legal frameworks and gendered and transnational structural inequalities come together to construct transnational brides as “disposable women” who can be abused, exploited and cast aside with impunity.
United Nations, 2009, Good practices in legislation on “harmful practices” against women, United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women and United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.
See 3.3.4 Dowry-related violence and harassment. ‘Demands for dowry can result in women being harassed, harmed or killed, including women being burned to death, and in deaths of women which are labelled as suicides. It is necessary for dowry to be defined as broadly as possible to capture the full range of exchanges given, or asked for, in the name of dowry.’ This paper recommends legislation should ‘define dowry-related violence or harassment as any act of violence or harassment associated with the giving or receiving of dowry at any time before, during or after the marriage.’ (p20)
Whilst some types of family violence are experienced in all communities, there are certain forms of family violence that arise in culturally and linguistically diverse communities. One notable example is dowry abuse, which is particularly prevalent in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Middle East, though not confined to any ethnic, cultural or religious group. Given Australia’s status as a multicultural nation, dowry abuse has become an increasing problem.
Dowry is the practice of transferring money, property, goods or other gifts from a person to their spouse’s family. The United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women defines dowry-related violence as ‘any act of violence or harassment associated with the giving or receiving of dowry at any time before, during or after the marriage’. The practice of dowry is abused when coercive demands are made for further or larger gifts from a victim and their family. These demands are often coupled with acts of physical, emotional or economic abuse, threats, harassment or stalking. Research suggests that dowry abuse can also include abandonment, acid throwing, demands to terminate pregnancy, mutilation, murder, sexual assault, and threats to cancel visa sponsorship or to annul a marriage. Numerous individuals may be involved in perpetrating dowry abuse, such as in-laws, former spouses and fiancés, and other family members and friends.
Dowry abuse has been reported to be linked to poor mental health and suicides in women. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists have observed that culturally and linguistically diverse women found it difficult to recognise the abuse and seek help due to, for example, fears of cultural and social isolation, and pressures from within the community to maintain the family unit. It is also widely noted that dowry-related violence may be exacerbated by a victim’s immigration status. The Family Violence Response Centre reports that their staff observed that women were less likely to report abuse because of their precarious living situation; work restrictions and ineligibility for government support payments; the isolation of living in a new country; and the fear of deportation to their home country and associated feelings of shame. Women who did seek help, however, have encountered barriers because there is limited understanding and awareness among police, social workers and the legal profession about what dowry is, how it is practiced, and how it can be linked to family violence.
There are currently no laws in Australia that criminalise the practice of dowry or dowry abuse. There have been increasing calls for dowry-related violence to be included in the definition of economic abuse in all Australian legislation. Victoria recently legislated to refer to dowry abuse as an example of family violence in s 5(1)(a) of the Family Violence Protection Act 2008. Dowry abuse is also mentioned in the Western Australian Restraining Orders Act 1997 under the definition of family violence in s 5A(2)(ha).
Dowry abuse may be one aspect of a complex pattern of behaviours engaged in by perpetrators in order to control another person, sometimes referred to as coercive control.
Whilst some types of family violence are experienced in all communities, there are certain forms of family violence that arise in culturally and linguistically diverse communities. One notable example is dowry abuse, which is particularly prevalent in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Middle East, though not confined to any ethnic, cultural or religious group. Given Australia’s status as a multicultural nation, dowry abuse has become an increasing problem.
Dowry is the practice of transferring money, property, goods or other gifts from a person to their spouse’s family. The United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women defines dowry-related violence as ‘any act of violence or harassment associated with the giving or receiving of dowry at any time before, during or after the marriage’. The practice of dowry is abused when coercive demands are made for further or larger gifts from a victim and their family. These demands are often coupled with acts of physical, emotional or economic abuse, threats, harassment or stalking. Research suggests that dowry abuse can also include abandonment, acid throwing, demands to terminate pregnancy, mutilation, murder, sexual assault, and threats to cancel visa sponsorship or to annul a marriage. Numerous individuals may be involved in perpetrating dowry abuse, such as in-laws, former spouses and fiancés, and other family members and friends.
Dowry abuse has been reported to be linked to poor mental health and suicides in women. The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists have observed that culturally and linguistically diverse women found it difficult to recognise the abuse and seek help due to, for example, fears of cultural and social isolation, and pressures from within the community to maintain the family unit. It is also widely noted that dowry-related violence may be exacerbated by a victim’s immigration status. The Family Violence Response Centre reports that their staff observed that women were less likely to report abuse because of their precarious living situation; work restrictions and ineligibility for government support payments; the isolation of living in a new country; and the fear of deportation to their home country and associated feelings of shame. Women who did seek help, however, have encountered barriers because there is limited understanding and awareness among police, social workers and the legal profession about what dowry is, how it is practiced, and how it can be linked to family violence.
There are currently no laws in Australia that criminalise the practice of dowry or dowry abuse. There have been increasing calls for dowry-related violence to be included in the definition of economic abuse in all Australian legislation. Victoria recently legislated to refer to dowry abuse as an example of family violence in s 5(1)(a) of the Family Violence Protection Act 2008. Dowry abuse is also mentioned in the Western Australian Restraining Orders Act 1997 under the definition of family violence in s 5A(2)(ha).
Dowry abuse may be one aspect of a complex pattern of behaviours engaged in by perpetrators in order to control another person, sometimes referred to as coercive control.