Muslim Community Reactions to Domestic Violence in South Australia: A Qualitative Vignette Study

The last three years have seen increasing attention toward addressing domestic and family violence (DFV) in Australia due to the increase in incident rates and fatalities. Despite the Australian government recognizing gaps in understanding DFV among culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) communities, there is limited research on how Muslims react to the issue. This study explored Muslim communities’ responses to a domestic violence incident, including their understanding and help-seeking recommendations, through vignette-informed in-depth interviews with 10 women and one focus group discussion in Adelaide. The findings revealed that participants from the Muslim community lacked knowledge of domestic violence, with many of them only labeling physical acts as a form of domestic violence. Religious and cultural influences of domestic violence were considered as distinctly different, with religious teachings potentially fulfilling a protective function, and patriarchal cultural norms playing a negative role in DFV. Also, the study highlighted the importance of informal support networks, including Imams, to address domestic violence issues. The findings suggest the need for domestic violence services to adopt targeted community education programs in collaboration with Muslim communities and the critical need for additional research into how Muslims respond to and understand DFV.