Résumé
Les changements postimmigration
dans les rapports sociaux entre les sexes
chez les couples éthiopiens au Canada
Ilene Hyman, Sepali Guruge, Robin Mason,
Judy Gould, Noreen Stuckless,Taryn Tang,
Hiwot Teffera et Girma Mekonnen
La communauté éthiopienne à Toronto, au Canada, a identifié la prévention de
conflits maritaux et de la violence conjugale comme une question prioritaire.
Des recherches antérieures et des discussions au sein de la collectivité suggèrent
que les changements dans les rapports sociaux entre les sexes survenant après
l’immigration contribuent à l’incidence de conflits maritaux et de violence
conjugale. Cette étude communautaire pilote avait pour objectif d’explorer les
changements postimmigration dans les rapports sociaux entre les sexes chez les
couples éthiopiens, en vue de contribuer à l’élaboration de stratégies visant à
prévenir la violence. L’étude a été réalisée selon des méthodes de recherche et
des analyses qualitatives. Des entrevues en profondeur et des discussions en
groupes ont été menées avec la collaboration de huit couples mariés en Éthiopie
et installés à Toronto. Les résultats indiquent une modification des rapports
sociaux entre les hommes et les femmes après l’immigration, ainsi que des
tendances de changement concordantes et discordantes. La recherche révèle que
l’incidence de changements est associée à des facteurs comme l’âge, le nombre
d’années de vie conjugale, l’expérience de vie dans un pays en développement,
et la socialisation relativement aux rôles assignés à chacun des sexes. Les impli-
cations sur le plan des futures recherches et de la pratique infirmière font l’objet
de discussions.
Mots clés : immigration, rapports sociaux entre les sexes, conflits maritaux,
violence conjugale
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Post-migration Changes in
Gender Relations Among Ethiopian
Couples Living in Canada
Ilene Hyman, Sepali Guruge, Robin Mason,
Judy Gould, Noreen Stuckless,Taryn Tang,
Hiwot Teffera, and Girma Mekonnen
The Ethiopian community of Toronto, Canada, has identified the prevention of
marital conflict and partner abuse as a priority issue. Previous research and
community discussions suggested that changes in gender relations following
migration contribute to both marital conflict and partner abuse.The objective
of this community-based pilot study was to explore post-migration changes in
gender relations among Ethiopian couples in order to inform the development
of violence-prevention strategies. Qualitative research methods and analyses were
used. In-depth interviews and focus-group discussions were conducted with
8 couples who had been married in Ethiopia and migrated to Toronto.The
findings indicate changes in gender relations following migration as well as
concordant and discordant patterns of change. Change was found to be associ-
ated with factors such as age, number of years married, experience in a third
country, and gender-role socialization. Implications for future research and
nursing practice are discussed.
Keywords: immigration, gender relations, acculturative change, marital conflict,
partner abuse
Introduction
Violence against women is present in every society and culture (Locke
& Richman, 1999). Some studies have suggested that post-migration
changes in gender relations affect the power dynamics between men and
women, thereby increasing the risk of marital conflict and partner abuse
in newcomer couples (Bui & Morash, 1999; Morash, Bui, & Santiago,
2000; Morrison, Guruge, & Snarr, 1999; Narayan, 1995; Oxman-
Martinez,Abdool, & Loiselle-Leonard, 2000; Raj & Silverman, 2002;
Tang & Oatley, 2002;West, 1998). Concerns about changes in gender
relations as possible contributors to marital conflict and partner abuse
have also been identified by the Ethiopian community in Toronto,
Canada. In 2001 a partnership was formed between the Ethiopian
Association in Toronto (EAT) and academic researchers to further
explore this phenomenon.The objective of this community-based pilot
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study was to examine the ways in which gender relations change after
migration to Canada, patterns of change, and factors associated with
change. It was hoped that the findings would enhance the cultural and
gender-based sensitivity of nurses working with newcomer families in
Canada and inform the development of community-based violence-pre-
vention strategies.
We will present a brief overview of the literature, followed by a
description of the background, design, and results of the study, a general
discussion, and some implications of the findings for research and clini-
cal practice.
Literature Review
It is well established that immigration to and settlement in a new country
entail significant stress and a period of adjustment, particularly in the area
of social relations (Canadian Council on Multicultural Health, 1989;
Canadian Task Force on Mental Health Issues Affecting Immigrants and
Refugees [Canadian Task Force], 1988). At the same time, immigration
offers some people the opportunity to recreate, reinvent, and negotiate
established gender roles. Changes in gender roles, in turn, have a pro-
found effect on gender relations within couples (Bui & Morash, 1999;
Canadian Council on Multicultural Health; Canadian Task Force; Morash
et al., 2000; Morrison et al., 1999; Sorenson, 1996).
The results of previous work suggest that changes in gender relations
following migration are associated with marital conflict and increased
risk of abuse in immigrant and refugee populations. Changing gender
roles is cited as a contributor to increasing levels of conflict, divorce, and
domestic violence among Southeast Asian refugees (Kulig, 1994). Morash
et al. (2000) found that physical abuse was reported in 37% of Mexican
immigrant families when one of the partners changed gender role expec-
tations. Data from pilot interviews with Chinese immigrant women and
service providers show that when his role as breadwinner is threatened,
a husband may reassert his power and control through physical and psy-
chological forms of abuse (Tang & Oatley, 2002). Raj and Silverman
(2002) suggest that changes in gender relations not only serve as a justifi-
cation for partner abuse but also increase women’s vulnerability to abuse.
Yet other research suggests that immigration offers the possibility of
change in traditional gender roles that otherwise would be difficult to
negotiate and may offer women previously unavailable or suppressed
employment opportunities (Krulfeld, 1994).
As a result of civil war, since the mid-1970s an estimated 1.25 million
Ethiopians have fled to neighbouring countries such as Sudan, Kenya,
Djibouti, and Yemen, while a smaller proportion have immigrated to
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Europe and North America (McSpadden & Moussa, 1993). As in the
home country, the Ethiopian community in Toronto is characterized by
tremendous diversity with respect to ethnicity and religion.According to
the EAT, the current Ethiopian population of Toronto is 35,000
(B. Menkir, Executive Director, Ethiopian Association in Toronto, per-
sonal communication, December 20, 2002).
In 2001, the EAT identified prevention of marital conflict and partner
abuse as a priority concern. Post-migration stresses such as poverty,
underemployment, minority status, and discrimination, which increase
the vulnerability of women to partner abuse, have been noted in the lit-
erature (Bui & Morash, 1999; Morash et al., 2000; Morrison et al., 1999;
Narayan, 1995;Tang & Oatley, 2002;West, 1998). However, these were
factors that the EAT believed it could not address.Although empirical
data were unavailable, a decision was made by the EAT staff and board
members and the research team to focus this study on exploring the ways
in which gender relations changed after migration to Canada, patterns of
change, and factors associated with change.The findings would be used
primarily to inform the development of community-based violence-pre-
vention strategies.
Methods
In this community-based pilot study, all phases of the research, develop-
ment of objectives, recruitment, development of research/interview ques-
tions, and analysis were determined together with the EAT staff. Since
relatively little was known about the issue in question and since this was
an exploratory study, qualitative methodology was chosen. Participants
were recruited via newspaper advertisements, flyers distributed at EAT
headquarters, and word-of-mouth.
Ethics approval for the study was obtained from the Sunnybrook and
Women’s College Ethics Board. In order for a couple to be eligible, both
partners had to be immigrants, both partners had to agree to participate,
the couple had to have been married/living together prior to migration,
and both partners had to be of Ethiopian origin.After having all the risks
and benefits of participation explained to them, the participants provided
written informed consent and were offered an honorarium for their con-
tribution to the study. Data were collected by two (one male and one
female) Ethiopian (Amharic-speaking) research assistants (RAs) trained
in interview and focus-group techniques.
The interview schedule consisted of two sections: a short question-
naire on socio-demographics and migration history; and a set of open-
ended questions on gender roles in Ethiopia and Canada, relationship
changes, and types and sources of support. Eight Ethiopian couples living
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in Toronto participated in the in-depth individual interviews.The
couples were interviewed separately to ensure that the presence of a
partner would not influence responses. During pre-testing it was deter-
mined that participants did not have a gender preference regarding the
interviewer, so the same person interviewed both partners in each
couple.The interviews took between 1.5 and 2.5 hours to complete.
After completion of the in-depth interviews and preliminary data analy-
sis, two focus groups (one for men and one for women) were formed.
Each focus group consisted of five participants and the discussion lasted
between 2 and 3 hours. Six participants who had been interviewed were
unable to attend the focus-group discussion due to family or work com-
mitments.The two RAs facilitated the discussions, the purpose of which
was to confirm the themes that emerged during the initial data analysis
and to generate data for ongoing analysis.All interviews and focus-group
discussions were audiotaped, transcribed, and translated into English
(with the exception of two interviews conducted in English).
Data Analysis
The two RAs cross-checked and validated all interview data. Data from
the interviews and focus-group discussions were organized using N6
software. Concepts noted in the literature served as an initial guide for
the development of a coding scheme.Additional codes were developed
as the first interviews were coded and significant codes were grouped as
subthemes.The coding scheme initially consisted of more than 120
codes.These were later reduced to 11 subthemes. Subthemes were then
collapsed and condensed into themes.The findings reported here are
those pertaining to three themes: main areas of change, patterns of
change, and factors associated with change. Regular team meetings of all
the investigators and the two RAs were held in order to discuss and
reach consensus on the codes, subthemes, and themes, and on the termi-
nology to be used in describing them.
Results
Characteristics of Sample
The participants varied with respect to age, number of years married, and
number of years in Canada. Less heterogeneity was observed with respect
to educational and religious background. Most participants were well
educated, though men more so than women.The majority of participants
were members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church.All of the women
and most of the men were employed.The sample was fairly homoge-
neous with respect to socio-economic status in Ethiopia and was indica-
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Table 1 Characteristics of Sample
Age 27–71 years (mean = 47 years)
Education High school graduate to doctorate
Religion Ethiopian Orthodox (15) and Protestant (1)
Number of years married 3–42 (mean = 21)
Number of years in Canada 3–20 (mean = 13)
tive of the Canadian immigration selection process — that is, based on
who has the means to immigrate.Thus, for example, all of the couples
had pre-immigration “instrumental support,” which was not the case
once they arrived in Canada.Table 1 summarizes the main characteris-
tics of the participants.
In the interviews, the participants were asked to describe their roles
and responsibilities as a wife/husband in Ethiopia.The findings indicate
that the women were primarily responsible for taking care of the house-
hold and children, or “inside” matters, while the men were primarily
responsible for supporting the family financially, or “outside” matters.The
majority of men did not share household tasks, and those who did so
performed tasks such as gardening or household repairs. According to
both male and female participants, in Ethiopia there were no expecta-
tions that men would or should share in household tasks. One of the
male participants pointed out that as a child he had been reprimanded if
he “smelled of smoke” — the result of wandering into the kitchen.
During the focus-group discussion the women said that as young girls
they had been encouraged to acquire domestic skills but that boys had
not.
The majority of female participants (80%) had been employed in
Ethiopia and fulfilled a double role, responsible for both contributing
financial support and running the household. However, both male and
female participants reported that the man had been considered the
primary breadwinner, with the woman’s income being seen as supple-
mentary.
The reliance on instrumental support in Ethiopia was acknowledged
by both male and female participants as an important contributor to the
smooth functioning of the household.This instrumental support was pro-
vided by both hired help and extended family.
Main Areas of Change
Three main areas of change in gender relations in Canada were identi-
fied: household (inside) responsibilities, work (outside) responsibilities,
and marital interactions.
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Household (inside) responsibilities. The findings suggest that men
share in more household tasks in Canada but overall responsibility
remains with women. One female participant said:“70% of the work is
mine…in Canada we both are working but I still take on most of the
responsibilities.” Most of the men indicated that they helped with shop-
ping, cleaning, and child care.
Work (outside) responsibilities. While the majority of the women had
been employed in Ethiopia, all were employed in Canada, a significant
difference being that in Canada, unlike in Ethiopia, the woman’s contri-
bution to the household income was considered essential and as impor-
tant as the man’s.The focus-group data show that the men believed that
women should be employed, for the well-being of both the woman
herself and the family, and that most of the men considered their wife’s
income necessary to make ends meet.The majority of female participants
reported that they worked both out of financial necessity and because it
gave them more autonomy. Both male and female participants observed
that many women derived other benefits from employment, such as
reduced isolation and increased adaptation, besides bringing in necessary
income.
When somebody stays home, you know, the condition of this country…
you can’t have the kind of socialization we have had in our culture.
Therefore, she won’t be comfortable if she is not working, she can’t share
ideas with anybody unless she is working. If she always stays home while
I am working and coming home, it will create for her some sort of stress.
It is because to work and come home and staying home do have big
difference. Besides, it also brings some additional income if she works.
[40-year-old man]
Marital interactions. The marital relationship was a major area of
change, both positive and negative, for the majority of couples. One of
the positive changes was described as an increase in joint decision-
making.Although in Ethiopia there had been some shared decision-
making on major financial issues, most male participants indicated that
they had much more decision-making power in Ethiopia than their
wives.A 60-year-old female participant stated:
We always discuss whenever we want to do something, like I may say
what if we give this much for this wedding? We also discuss the money
that we give for the church.We discuss everything. I don’t hide anything
from him and he doesn’t hide anything from me.
Another positive change in some relationships was that husbands and
wives were spending more time together and growing closer.The same
60-year-old woman stated:
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There are a lot of changes, like usually we spend the evenings together, my
husband and I. He doesn’t say,“Now I am going with my friends”… He
is always with me and I am always with him.We go for a walk together
and even sometimes we go to bars together. It very much brought us
together.
On the negative side, some couples faced new stresses and experi-
enced conflict as a result of their different work schedules, long working
hours, and fatigue, as described by a 39-year-old female participant:
Of course you would be happy if you could spend some time with your
husband and if you could talk and chat with your husband, whatever the
topic. But when you can’t do that because of shortage of time, you may say
until when? …you may spend alone most of the time and you may tend
to say, what is the difference if I live alone or with him?
Patterns of Change
The men and women adapted to their new roles and responsibilities in
Canada in different ways.The different patterns were most apparent with
respect to household tasks and were clearly important in the couples’
lives. Both concordant and discordant patterns of change were observed.
Concordant patterns included acceptance of the old ways and negotia-
tion of new ways.
Acceptance of the old ways. Acceptance of the old ways meant that
both partners were comfortable with or at least accepted the traditional
division of responsibilities and tasks.This allowed for a relatively harmo-
nious relationship with minimal stress:
Regarding activities in the house, I am telling you frankly, as far as the
woman can do the job it is not necessary to impose on him.This is our
culture; we get used to it since childhood. If they are willing to learn and
help, that would be great, but it is not necessary to lose your long-term
relationship because he is not doing it now. [39-year-old woman]
Negotiation of new ways. According to this pattern, couples negoti-
ated tasks and responsibilities in Canada using criteria such as:Who does
it better? Who has more time? Who enjoys doing the task? A 41-year-old
male participant explained:
If your wife is a good cook and you are a lousy cook, it should be your
wife that is doing the cooking. But if she is a lousy cook and you are
better, then you should do it.
Discordant patterns of change included one partner resisting change,
making sacrifices, and/or tolerating the old ways.
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Resisting change. This pattern was most evident among male partic-
ipants, with some of the men frequently expressing an unwillingness to
take up certain responsibilities and tasks, particularly those they felt
belonged to women. For example, one man stated that he did not mind
making coffee using a percolator but that it was a woman’s job to make it
the Ethiopian way, accompanied by the traditional coffee ceremony.An
example provided by a 71-year-old participant concerned the traditional
bread, enjerra, an Ethiopian staple:
The reason why I am not baking enjerra is that first of all my body
doesn’t even accept it; it is a matter of acceptance. But if I [am] compelled
to do so and if I am in a situation where I feel that somebody could be in
danger if I don’t do that, then I may consider doing that; but I don’t know
because that hasn’t happened yet.
Sacrifice. Some female participants expressed a willingness to take on
the double burden of inside and outside work in order to maintain
household harmony.They accepted the idea that their primary mission
in life was to do whatever was necessary to raise their children and
provide them with a good education:
He used to say to me… “You work at night and come back home, you
have to get some sleep and you have to take care of the kids and you have
to come fetch me; this is not good.” At one point I was not even able to
open my eyes but I did not want to show it to him... So I never said I
was tired. I worked and I took good care of my kids. [48-year-old
woman]
Tolerance. This pattern was observed when female participants spoke
about wanting change but believed that, in order to avoid conflict,
women must be patient and not make demands on their husbands:
So we hold on to the idea of not going for divorce. So, to avoid such
mishap, I tolerated. I believe that it was patience that prevented me from
taking that kind of major decision — my silence, my working without
complaining. He then started saying, “What?” So we were able to get to
this stage. It wasn’t because my husband was nice to me around the time
we came here or that he had changed automatically. It was because I toler-
ated… [53-year-old woman]
It was evident from the interviews and focus-group discussions that
the patterns of change were not fixed; couples adopted different patterns
at different points during the process of settling in a new country. Indeed
many couples themselves recognized that this process was dynamic.
Analysis revealed three distinct stages of change, not necessarily corre-
sponding to number of years in Canada.The first stage consisted of
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maintaining the division of tasks as they were in Ethiopia as a way of
maintaining links with the culture.The participants reported that during
this stage most men did not help with household tasks, expecting their
wives to run the house on their own. However, adherence to traditional
roles and patterns of behaviour required agreement by both parties.
During the first stage, the women had no expectations that their hus-
bands would or should help with housework.As described by one of the
male participants:“If you see couples who just came here for the first
time, soon after they came the women don’t even allow you to get into
the kitchen.”The female participants also found it difficult to ask their
husbands to help, because “it is a little difficult to break that barrier and
say to men,‘Do this.’They might think,‘She is giving me an order’,”
which would not have occurred in Ethiopia.A number of participants
noted that cultural adaptation is a gradual process.
During the second stage, mutual discussion and joint decision-making
emerged as indicators of change in the relationship. As one of the male
participants pointed out,“things are decided together.” Interestingly, the
participants also indicated a growing recognition that, in light of the
absence of instrumental help, husbands now had to help their wives. One
53-year-old female participant recounted how her husband had changed
over time:
I think he watched me through the window going far pushing the cart. He
felt it and started saying,“Does she have to do all this by herself?”
During the third stage, tasks were described as having become routine
or “carried out simply by habit,” resulting in a decrease in the gendered
division of labour.As a 42-year-old male participant put it:
For example, if the man does ironing clothes one or two times, first she will
say,“Please do also these ones,” but later it will specifically be his task and
continue doing that.
Factors Associated with Change
Data analysis revealed several factors associated with patterns of change.
Age and length of marriage were perhaps the strongest influences on
change.The older women tended to be more patient, tolerant, less
demanding, and more accepting of the traditional gender division of
tasks. Both men and women who had been married a long time stressed
the importance of mutual understanding and were much more comfort-
able with the traditional division of labour than those who had not been
married long.The older women did not expect their husbands to help
out at home, while the younger women did.The former were reluctant
to ask for help, citing their partner’s age and/or consideration for his
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social status back in Ethiopia. Older participants were much more vocal
on this point than their younger counterparts, and were critical of them.
Experience in a third country also played a part in couples’ adapta-
tion to their new roles in Canada.Those who had lived in a Western
country before coming to Canada adapted more quickly and smoothly
to their new role because of their exposure to different lifestyles. Even
those who had lived in another non-Western country observed that the
process of migration facilitated change. For example, when the partici-
pants were asked how the traditional division of tasks had changed for
them in Canada, one woman responded:
We have come through a different country. Since both of us did housework,
we were hired by families to do housework.When we come here, it is not a
big deal for my husband to do housework.All of us started working right
away — equally.
Finally, it was apparent that gender socialization influenced patterns
of change among the couples. Most of the female participants accepted
the fact that they had more responsibilities because this was part of
woman’s “nature.”They maintained they had more household responsi-
bilities than their husbands because they had taken it upon themselves to
do more. Many male participants also expressed a belief in a “natural”
division of labour and, regardless of their age or educational background,
showed a resistance to change.
Discussion
The purpose of this community-based pilot study was to explore changes
in gender relations, patterns of change, and factors associated with change
in a sample of Ethiopian couples living in Toronto.The findings indicate
strong evidence of change following migration, particularly in the areas
of housework, paid work, and marital interactions. In Ethiopia, the men
had been the principal breadwinners and were accorded more authority
in relationships as a result of education, income, and cultural influences,
while the women had fulfilled the dual role of wage-earner and house-
hold manager, though usually with the support of hired help and family
members. In Canada, there was strong evidence of change in the gen-
dered assignment of household tasks, though change was frequently
described in terms of sharing specific tasks rather than sharing overall
responsibility.
For most couples the marital relationship was a significant source of
change, with participants reporting both positive and negative changes.
Concordant and discordant patterns emerged with regard to changes in
the couples’ relations. Concordant patterns of change were those in
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which both partners either accepted the old ways or negotiated new
ways, while discordant patterns were those in which one partner resisted
change, made sacrifices, and/or tolerated the old ways.Although discor-
dant patterns might be considered less adaptive, it must be stressed that
all eight of the sample marriages were still intact, indicating that the
couples had developed effective strategies for resolving their differences.
The findings also indicate that the process of change was dynamic
and that one partner or both may have gone through several different
stages of change during the resettlement period.According to Berry
(1995), individuals acquire, retain, and relinquish the behaviours and
values of their traditional culture and the new culture to which they are
adjusting.Thus, newcomer couples are continually striving to balance and
combine the heritage and host cultures, creating diverse patterns of
change, some of which may invoke risk while others may offer security.
According to Dobash and Dobash (1997), without fundamental changes
in gender relations, we may continue to experience a legacy of violence.
The effects of different patterns of change on outcomes such as marital
conflict or partner abuse were not assessed in the present study. However,
new analyses of the 1999 General Social Survey conducted by our
research team (M. M. Cohen, Principal Investigator) have found that
recent immigrant women (less than 10 years in Canada) experienced sig-
nificantly lower rates of intimate partner violence than their Canadian-
born counterparts (Hyman, 2003).
Previous studies with Ethiopian immigrants support our finding that
gender relations change following migration and that such change may
involve marital conflict and partner abuse (Matsuoka & Sorenson, 2001;
McSpadden & Moussa, 1993). In interviews with Ethiopian and Eritrean
women and men in Toronto, Matsuoka and Sorensen found evidence of
changes in gender roles and relations within couples that altered expec-
tations and contributed to marital tension. Many of the women believed
that in Canada, unlike in Ethiopia, it was impossible to work full-time
while raising a family without help from their partner.Although some of
the men accepted a new role for women in Canada, clear lines of demar-
cation persisted. Some of the men found that women’s employment
threatened their traditional ideas concerning male economic power.
McSpadden and Moussa conducted qualitative interviews with Ethiopian
immigrant families to explore their experiences with immigration and
resettlement.Although they did not directly address the issue of partner
abuse, McSpadden and Moussa attribute the growing incidence of wife
abuse to male anger and frustration evoked by racism and un/underem-
ployment, as well as loss of authority and respect within the family.
Neither of these studies examined concordant and discordant patterns of
change in Ethiopian immigrant couples.
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No previous research has examined factors associated with post-
migration changes in gender relations.Well-established research on the
determinants of health has identified factors, such as education, gender,
environment, and health services utilization, that affect the health of
Canadians (Health Canada, 2002). Of particular importance to immi-
grant health are determinants such as income, social support, and stress,
and a recognition that heterogeneity within immigrant communities in
Canada may affect both health and access to health services (Hyman,
2004).The present study has identified additional and multiple factors
that directly contribute to change, and thus indirectly affect health —
namely, previous experience in a third country and gender role socializa-
tion.
Some limitations must be noted. Because our sample was restricted
to couples who had been married in Ethiopia prior to migrating to
Canada, we were unable to examine other types of marital relationships
within the Ethiopian community. For example, the data may not reflect
challenges that face newly married Ethiopian couples in Canada.The
interviews carried out as part of the present study and informal discus-
sions with members of the Ethiopian community suggest that newly
married individuals may experience more marital conflict than couples
who were married in Ethiopia. In addition, the majority of the sample
had lived in another country prior to coming to Canada. The experi-
ences of migrating together and facing common challenges in Canada
appear to strengthen couples’ relationships and marital resiliency. Finally,
the sample did not include individuals who had separated or divorced
post-migration; therefore, we could not ascertain the extent to which
changing gender relations contribute to divorce or separation.This will
be the focus of the next phase of the project.
Implications
These findings have implications for research and practice.They lay the
groundwork for future research on marital conflict and partner abuse in
immigrant populations. Further research is needed to address questions
about the mediating factors identified in this study (i.e., age, previous
experience in a third country, and gender socialization) and to determine
whether concordant and discordant patterns of change are associated
with different outcomes. Research is also necessary to extend these find-
ings to other types of marital relationships within the Ethiopian com-
munity, including the relationships of those who marry in Canada.
Finally, similar research should be conducted with couples from other
immigrant communities, to determine whether the patterns identified
have meaning beyond one particular community.
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In terms of practice, nurses must recognize that immigrant couples
frequently experience changes in their roles and relationships following
migration and that these changes can be a source of strain and conflict.
Crisis counsellors and mental health nurses are in an ideal position to
identify individuals/couples at risk and to make suggestions or introduce
interventions to diffuse tensions and improve communication between
partners. Sensitivity to the dynamic nature of change and the factors
associated with change is critical, in order to break down barriers and
improve the accessibility of support services for women who experience
marital conflict and/or partner abuse.
The findings are currently being used by the EAT to inform the
development of culturally appropriate and gender-sensitive violence-pre-
vention strategies, to increase community awareness of changes in gender
relations following migration and the impact of migration, both positive
and negative, on marital relationships.
In conclusion, this study represents a first step in addressing informa-
tion gaps related to post-migration changes in gender relations within
immigrant communities.The findings will be used mainly to inform the
development of community-specific preventive strategies and programs
to better meet the needs of Ethiopian couples experiencing marital con-
flict and partner abuse. Further research is necessary to determine the
extent to which changing gender relations contribute to marital conflict
and partner abuse in immigrant populations, and to examine the various
strategies that couples develop to resolve conflict and adapt to changing
gender relations.
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Authors’ Note
This project was funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research
– Institute of Gender and Health.We would also like to acknowledge the
support of the Ethiopian Association in Toronto.
Comments or inquiries may be directed to Dr. Ilene Hyman, Centre
for Research in Women’s Health, 790 Bay Street, 7th Floor,Toronto,
Ontario M5G 1N8 Canada.Telephone: 416-351-3732, ext. 2745. Fax:
416-351-3746. E-mail: ilene.hyman@sw.ca
Ilene Hyman, BSc, PhD, is Research Scientist,Violence and Health Program,
Centre for Research in Women’s Health, and Assistant Professor, Department of
Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Sepali Guruge,
RN, BScN, is a doctoral candidate in the Faculty of Nursing, University of
Toronto. Robin Mason, PhD, is Research Scientist,Violence and Health Program,
Centre for Research in Women’s Health, and Assistant Professor, Department of
Public Health Sciences, University of Toronto. Judy Gould, PhD, is Psychosocial
Researcher, Ontario Breast Cancer Community Research Initiative, Centre for
Research in Women’s Health. Noreen Stuckless, PhD, is Assistant Professor,
Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, and Undergraduate Director,
Department of Psychology,York University,Toronto.Taryn Tang, PhD, is Research
Associate,Women’s Mental Health and Addiction Research Section, Centre for
Addiction and Mental Health,Toronto. Hiwot Teffera, MA, is Research Assistant,
Centre for Research in Women’s Health. Girma Mekonnen, MD, is Research
Assistant, Centre for Research in Women’s Health.
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