The Social Construction of Concealment Among Chinese Women in Abusive Marriages in Hong Kong

Abstract

This article presents the findings of a qualitative study of 15 Chinese women in Hong Kong who experienced marital conflict and family violence. Adopting a narrative approach, the authors found that the women had gradually developed a culture of concealment through a process of social construction. Individual, environmental, and cultural factors had combined to develop and reinforce their tendency to conceal their situation and to remain silent. This culture of concealment was highly oppressive and had a negative impact on the women’s personal, interpersonal, and social well-being. Social work strategies to break this pattern of behavior and to liberate the women from the culture of concealment are explored.