title: Portuguese-speaking women voice their opinions: using their words to teach about wife abuse.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  This study examined Portuguese-speaking women's definitions of wife abuse and beliefs about appropriate responses to abuse. The goals were to determine the breadth of definitions and to examine cultural stereotyping. This information was sought in an effort to design education strategies in the Portuguese-speaking community.
  
  
  METHODS
  One-on-one semistructured interviews were conducted with 163 Portuguese-speaking women living in Toronto, Canada. The participants' open-ended answers were first coded using Qualitative Software Research NUDIST and then narrowed and grouped. Responses were then tagged by group label to generate descriptive statistics using Statistical Package for Social Sciences.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants defined wife abuse broadly with respect to kind, prevalence, and severity. Six themes for abuse emerged: physical, psychological, sexual, financial, patriarchal, and infidelity. Participants provided various responses to what women should do and actually do in response to abuse. Most participants believed that Portuguese-speaking women should leave their husbands and/or seek help for the abuse, but that they actually remain quiet about the abuse and take very little action. Their responses and explanations demonstrate that they hold stereotypes about their culture.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The range of definitions reported by participants suggests that a continuum of wife abuse, using Portuguese-speaking women's own words, can be created to educate them about how abusive acts are linked and used to maintain control over women. The differences that emerged with respect to appropriate responses to abuse suggest that it may be important to challenge Portuguese-speaking women about the cultural stereotypes that they hold to help them see patriarchy as widespread rather than particular to their culture.
authors.affiliation: University Health Network Women's Health Program, Margaret Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. paula.barata@uhn.on.ca
authors.forename: Paula C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Barata
authors.forename: Mary Jane
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: McNally
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Sales
authors.forename: Donna E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Stewart
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology*; D018585:Battered Women / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D001938:Brazil / Q000208:ethnology; D003466:Cultural Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009864:Ontario; D011174:Portugal / Q000208:ethnology; D011322:Primary Prevention / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012945:Social Values; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013240:Stereotyping; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016387:Women's Health / Q000208:ethnology*