By India Smith, Dorchester Reporter
“At last, a lawyer who speaks my language.”
Violence in the marriage, domestiv violence, A man beating his wife in the kitchen ( posed ). (Photo by Ulrich Baumgarten via Getty Images)
For women experiencing domestic violence in Dorchester’s Vietnamese immigrant community, language can be the final barrier to getting help, but since Tram T. Nguyen, Esq. joined Greater Boston Legal Services as an Equal Justice Works Fellow, that barrier has been coming down.
When battered women are referred by Carney Hospital, or come to the weekly intake sessions at Viet-AID in Fields Corner, they find in Nguyen a lawyer who not only understands the Vietnamese language and culture, but who also understands their experience as immigrants.
Nguyen’s family came to the US as refugees when she was five years old. Although they settled north of Boston, in Methuen, Nguyen always felt strongly connected to Dorchester. “We were part of the refugee community and my father, Long Nguyen, was active in the refugee community here,” she said.
According to Nguyen, women in Vietnamese culture are extremely hesitant to reveal domestic abuse. The woman is held responsible for taking care of her husband and family. Anything that might cause her to break up that family, even domestic violence, is seen as deeply shameful. The woman is expected to stick it out.
Read the full article HERE.
