The other day, I was having a casual conversation with a group of Chinese friends when one made a passing remark on how Indian men were known to be wife-beaters. I had mixed reactions to that comment. On one hand, I was shocked that he had made such a sweeping statement about an entire racial group, in front of me no less. On the other, I wondered if there was some truth to it. I’ve had several similar encounters – from taxi drivers who state with conviction that Indians are “troublemakers” to even Indian friends who accept that we consume more alcohol than other races. Such stereotypes have come to be accepted as open secrets of the community. We speak about it among ourselves, but become defensive when other races highlight it.
As such, I was surprised to see a report in the Straits Times on SINDA seeking to deal with high spousal abuse rates among Indians. It was unusual that SINDA, which is better known to focus on the educational performance of Indian students, had opted to highlight a non-educational issue plaguing Indians in the national, English media. Although SINDA does have services catering to social ills and broken families within the community (it is the only self-help group to run its own Family Service Centre), such services have traditionally been kept out of the limelight.
The reactions among my Indian friends were mixed. Some were glad that pressing social issues were no longer being “swept under the carpet”. Others were worried that it would only serve to fuel the stereotypes of Indians. What bothered me the most though, was that the report seemed to have singled out the Indian community for high spousal abuse rates.
SINDA’s Role in “Saving Face”
When self-help groups were first set up in Singapore, the driving rationale was that people were more likely to help those within their own community. Likewise, people were more open to accepting help from those within their community. SINDA volunteers who say that speaking in Tamil when they go on door-to-door visits allows them to establish trust with troubled families more easily. Moreover, keeping issues within the community would allow Indians to “save face” in front of other races.
Despite this rationale, there are merits in addressing a community issue on a national platform. Other than openly talking about an issue so that the community can take a hard look at itself, it also allows the wider national community to provide its inputs for a solution.
I am Indian. Therefore I am an Alcoholic.
However, the problem with the concept of a self-help group is that the issue at hand will always be dismissed as one that is the “pasal” of a particular racial group. In Singapore, this has led to a scenario where if a certain racial group demonstrates a penchant for selected social ills, it is more often than not, attributed to the community’s cultural predisposition towards the social ill. I am Indian, therefore I am an alcoholic. This creates a perception that one’s behaviour is a natural result of culture, absolving the individual of any responsibility.
In the case of spousal abuse among Indians, comments in media reports have attributed spousal abuse rates among Indians to “sub-culture”. Coupled with the Indian’s alleged tendency for alcoholism, this has merely served to reinforce the notion of the drunk Indian wife beater.
This is where stereotypes are born. At an extreme level, this may lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy where the community accepts that it is predisposed to certain traits and deems it futile to rectify a problem. I see this among many Indians who proudly proclaim of their ability to handle liquor better than other races, or plainly attribute spousal abuse to the patriarchal nature of the community. (The latter, especially, is a weak argument as most other Asian societies, including Singapore, are largely patriarchal.)
The Way Forward
The solution ultimately lies in our ability to separate the social ill from the community. Yes, a community may demonstrate an unusually high trend of being affected by a certain issue. However, this should not be attributed to a cultural failing within the community. The way forward would be to advocate a community’s issues on a national level, but seek to address it as a national issue without singling out the community. SINDA’s announcement on spousal abuse rates within the Indian community could possibly have been an attempt to do so. The report included statistics on spousal abuse among other races and an acknowledgement from SINDA that the high rates reported could be due to Indian victims being more aware of their avenues for redress. What is key though, is to emphasize that no one community is predisposed to a problem because they are from a certain racial group, religion or culture.
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The Social Swami
The Social Swami 
Beating some sense into stereotypes
In Nav, Social Commentary on August 20, 2014 at 4:32 pmThe other day, I was having a casual conversation with a group of Chinese friends when one made a passing remark on how Indian men were known to be wife-beaters. I had mixed reactions to that comment. On one hand, I was shocked that he had made such a sweeping statement about an entire racial group, in front of me no less. On the other, I wondered if there was some truth to it. I’ve had several similar encounters – from taxi drivers who state with conviction that Indians are “troublemakers” to even Indian friends who accept that we consume more alcohol than other races. Such stereotypes have come to be accepted as open secrets of the community. We speak about it among ourselves, but become defensive when other races highlight it.
As such, I was surprised to see a report in the Straits Times on SINDA seeking to deal with high spousal abuse rates among Indians. It was unusual that SINDA, which is better known to focus on the educational performance of Indian students, had opted to highlight a non-educational issue plaguing Indians in the national, English media. Although SINDA does have services catering to social ills and broken families within the community (it is the only self-help group to run its own Family Service Centre), such services have traditionally been kept out of the limelight.
The reactions among my Indian friends were mixed. Some were glad that pressing social issues were no longer being “swept under the carpet”. Others were worried that it would only serve to fuel the stereotypes of Indians. What bothered me the most though, was that the report seemed to have singled out the Indian community for high spousal abuse rates.
SINDA’s Role in “Saving Face”
When self-help groups were first set up in Singapore, the driving rationale was that people were more likely to help those within their own community. Likewise, people were more open to accepting help from those within their community. SINDA volunteers who say that speaking in Tamil when they go on door-to-door visits allows them to establish trust with troubled families more easily. Moreover, keeping issues within the community would allow Indians to “save face” in front of other races.
Despite this rationale, there are merits in addressing a community issue on a national platform. Other than openly talking about an issue so that the community can take a hard look at itself, it also allows the wider national community to provide its inputs for a solution.
I am Indian. Therefore I am an Alcoholic.
However, the problem with the concept of a self-help group is that the issue at hand will always be dismissed as one that is the “pasal” of a particular racial group. In Singapore, this has led to a scenario where if a certain racial group demonstrates a penchant for selected social ills, it is more often than not, attributed to the community’s cultural predisposition towards the social ill. I am Indian, therefore I am an alcoholic. This creates a perception that one’s behaviour is a natural result of culture, absolving the individual of any responsibility.
In the case of spousal abuse among Indians, comments in media reports have attributed spousal abuse rates among Indians to “sub-culture”. Coupled with the Indian’s alleged tendency for alcoholism, this has merely served to reinforce the notion of the drunk Indian wife beater.
This is where stereotypes are born. At an extreme level, this may lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy where the community accepts that it is predisposed to certain traits and deems it futile to rectify a problem. I see this among many Indians who proudly proclaim of their ability to handle liquor better than other races, or plainly attribute spousal abuse to the patriarchal nature of the community. (The latter, especially, is a weak argument as most other Asian societies, including Singapore, are largely patriarchal.)
The Way Forward
The solution ultimately lies in our ability to separate the social ill from the community. Yes, a community may demonstrate an unusually high trend of being affected by a certain issue. However, this should not be attributed to a cultural failing within the community. The way forward would be to advocate a community’s issues on a national level, but seek to address it as a national issue without singling out the community. SINDA’s announcement on spousal abuse rates within the Indian community could possibly have been an attempt to do so. The report included statistics on spousal abuse among other races and an acknowledgement from SINDA that the high rates reported could be due to Indian victims being more aware of their avenues for redress. What is key though, is to emphasize that no one community is predisposed to a problem because they are from a certain racial group, religion or culture.
Nav
The Social Swami