The Relationship Between Canadian Immigration Policies and Domestic/Intimate Partner Violence Against Immigrant Women: A Scoping Review

There are persistent claims that Canadian immigration policies create conditions contributing to domestic/intimate partner violence (D/IPV) against immigrant women. Although there have been studies that discussed immigrant women and D/IPV, no single study summarizes the findings from a scoping review of the literature examining the relationship between Canadian immigration policies and D/IPV against immigrant women. The purpose of this study is to review and synthesize the findings from studies that explored the relationship between Canadian immigration policies and D/IPV against immigrant women. Eighteen peer-reviewed articles written in English met the inclusion criteria. Four main themes emerged from the review: the sponsorship agreement increases the vulnerability of sponsored spouses to D/IPV, financial dependency increases the vulnerability of immigrant women to D/IPV, deportation concerns by immigrant women factor into whether they will report D/IPV to the police, and D/IPV is attributed to cultural determinants. Finally, findings from the review are discussed.