In-law conflict and family violence

In-law conflict in this resource refers to the abuser of daughters-in-law by parents-in-laws. Elder abuse is not discussed in this topic but is discussed in the CALD Older People Resource which can be found at www.eCALD.com.

As many Asian households are extended patrilineal households, comprising parents residing with adult married sons, their wives and children, in-law conflict is of greater relevance than in Western households. Living within extended families may appear supportive, but it can also create increased levels of conflict with family members, with high demands placed on women to fulfil a ‘‘tripartite role’’ of mother, wife, and daughter-in-law (Baldwin & Griffiths, 2009). Chan et al.’s (2008) study examines the correlation between in-law conflict and partner abuse against women in a cohort of Chinese women in Hong Kong. The study shows that in-law conflict was the characteristic most significantly associated with women’s reports of violent victimisation in the family.

Women in a New Zealand study of family violence in Asian communities shared their experiences of in-law abuse (Tse, 2008). In these cases, husbands were often passive observers of violence against their wives by in-laws. The in-laws’ abuse towards or control over women included financial, emotional and physical violence. Abusive in-laws also allowed sons to act violently against the wife. A number of studies have illustrate the role of mothers-in-law as perpetrators violence against their daughters-in-law (Ramanathan, 1996; Rianon & Shelton, 2003; Counts, Brown, & Campbell, 1999), including pregnant women (Dasgupta, 2000; Leung et al., 1999). In Tse’s (2008) New Zealand study a South Asian woman stated:

“My mother-in-law gave me a hard time … She knew that I was pregnant, but she made me carry heavy things, do all the housework then go to work without having a break first. My miscarriage happened because of stress.” (Tse, 2008).
Conflict with a mother-in-law has also been associated with wives’ postnatal depression (Lee et al., 2004).

In-law conflict is the characteristic most significantly associated with preceding-year abuse against pregnant women in Chinese and Korean studies (Chan et al., 2009; Ryu, 2010).

“My husband threatened me when I was pregnant saying that if I can’t bear him a son, he would not leave me alone. It was huge stress as a pregnant woman”. (Ryu, 2010).