Immigration, Domestic Violence, and the Military: The Case of “Military Brides"

This study addresses the abuse experiences of immigrant women married or engaged to U.S. servicemen and the response of military social service and legal systems. In-depth interviews of 10 immigrant women who were intimate partners of service members were conducted, emerging themes were identified in the data, and the intersectionality of immigration status and military spouse or intimate partner status in the lives of these women was explored. The findings confirm the role of military context, culture, and priorities in the abuse and the military systems’ responses. The immigration circumstances and status interact with the military context to compound the abuse, further marginalize victims/survivors, and weaken the military social service and legal systems’ response. The implications of the findings for military efforts to address domestic violence within the ranks are discussed.