Copyright by Laurie Cook Heffron 2015
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Copyright by Laurie Cook Heffron 2015 The Dissertation Committee for Laurie Cook Heffron certifies that this is the approved version of the following dissertation: “Salía de uno y me metí en otro:” A grounded theory approach to understanding the violence-migration nexus among Central American women in the United States Committee: Noël Busch-Armendariz, Supervisor Marilyn Armour Yolanda C. Padilla Susanna Snyder Rebecca M. Torres “Salía de uno y me metí en otro:” A grounded theory approach to understanding the violence-migration nexus among Central American women in the United States by Laurie Cook Heffron, B.S. Linguistics; M.S.S.W. Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Austin in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Texas at Austin August 2015 Dedication This dissertation is dedicated to the women who shared their stories of suffering, strength and resistance with me and to the many women who remain in danger, in detention, or whose movement about the world is constrained by injustice and intolerable choices. Antipatriarca By Ana Tijoux, 2014 Yo puedo ser tu hermana tu hija, Tamara Pamela o Valentina Yo puedo ser tu gran amiga incluso tu compañera de vida Yo puedo ser tu aliada la que aconseja y la que apaña Yo puedo ser cualquiera de todas depende de como tu me apodas Pero no voy a ser la que obedece porque mi cuerpo me pertenece Yo decido de mi tiempo como quiero y donde quiero Independiente yo nací, independiente decidí Yo no camino detrás de ti, yo camino de la par aquí Tú no me vas a humillar, tú no me vas a gritar Tú no me vas someter, tú no me vas a golpear Tú no me vas denigrar, tú no me vas obligar Tú no me vas a silenciar, tú no me vas a callar Yo puedo ser jefa de hogar, empleada o intelectual Yo puedo ser protagonista de nuestra historia y la que agita La gente la comunidad, la que despierta la vecindad La que organiza la economía de su casa de su familia Mujer linda se pone de pie Y a romper las cadenas de la piel No sumisa ni obediente Mujer fuerte insurgente Independiente y valiente Romper las cadenas de lo indiferente No pasiva ni oprimida Mujer linda que das vida Emancipada en autonomía Antipatriarca y alegría A liberar. Acknowledgements First, I offer deep gratitude to the women who allowed me into their homes and shared some of the most intimate, painful, and resilient aspects of their lives. I am inspired by their commitment to breaking the silence of oppression and violence and to ensuring that their stories may create new avenues towards an end to violence. I am profoundly grateful for the many colleagues and professors who have offered mentorship, guidance, and support to me during the process of completing this dissertation research and in the many years prior. Noël Busch-Armendariz, Ph.D. has been a mentor for more than 14 years. She provided the initial training in research around violence against women and was the impetus for my entering the doctoral program. I greatly admire and continue to benefit from her flexible and gracious supervision, her respect for family, and her generosity of spirit and ideas. I owe thanks as well to Marilyn Armour, Ph.D., whose early interest in my professional career and doctoral studies have served as a steady foundation; to Susie Snyder, Ph.D., for challenging me to develop new theoretical lenses; to Rebecca Torres, Ph.D., for her encouragement and support in delving into the literatures of geography; and to Yolanda Padilla, Ph.D., for tender attention to detail. In addition, I thank Dean Luis Zayas, Ph.D., for his leadership and support of the growing work to support migrant families through research, training, and expert witness work. Leila Wood, Ph.D., was and is a co-conspirator in grounded theory and a valuable sounding board. Alfonso Gonzales, Ph.D., and Gloria González-López, Ph.D., helped v expand my theoretical and conceptual horizons beyond the confines of social work. Holly Bell, Ph.D., has been instrumental in helping me develop qualitative data analysis skills and in navigating academia. Evelyn Marquez was valuable in helping me prepare the Spanish translations to make sure participants’ voices retained a central space in this dissertation. Maura Nsonwu, Ph.D., Jim Schwab, Ph.D., and Sherry Melecki helped me persist along the doctoral pathway with their steadfast warmth and cheerful encouragement. Fellow colleagues, students and conversation partners have shared wisdom, frustrations, laughter, and visions for social change. Elaine Eisenbaum, Shannon Johnson, Krystallynne Mikle, Tee Tyler, David Sensiba, Kendra Koch, Jelena Todic, Deidi Olaya, Caitlin Sulley, Margaret Bassett, Lindsey Morris, and Leticia Manzano. Karin Wachter has been unrelenting in keeping me disciplined, organized, and in the practice of writing. As both a dear friend and respected colleague, she consistently challenges my thinking with an expert blend of humor and insight. I also want to acknowledge the tremendous financial support provided to me through the Harrington Fellowship, the Charles W. Laughton Endowed Presidential Scholarship and the Louis E. DeMoll Endowed Presidential Scholarship at The University of Texas at Austin, in addition to financial support made possible by the P.E.O. Scholar Award. I am also indebted to the four non-profit community organizations who generously provided feedback during the early stages of the research design and who introduced me to research participants. I also recognize the many advocates, attorneys, vi and activists who work tirelessly on behalf of migrant women and their families, and who have taught me about immigration law and related social action – among them, Denise Gilman, Barbara Hines, Carlos García, Virginia Raymond, Edna Yang, Sulamita Mora, Corinna Jay, Patti McCabe, and many others. I am deeply thankful to the coaches and athletes at my “box” who keep me accountable to fueling my body, who squat, lift, and pull with smiles, and who understand health as a necessary component of broader social justice work. Finally, I want to recognize the tremendous support of my family and their patience with a home cluttered with books with titles like “Terrorizing Women” and a general onslaught of discussions and information about the world’s deeply discomforting injustices. They endured frequent travel for data collection, conferences, and visits to detention centers. All the while, they showed interest and compassion not only in my own process and professional development through the doctoral program, but in the lives of the migrant women and children impacted by violence. My parents joyfully folded laundry, served food, played hoops, and asked good questions, while my brother’s curiosity and integrity rooted inside us all. My children expressed genuine interest in this work and helped me maintain perspective with their tender words of encouragement, their limitless creativity, boundless ball games, and frequent bug collections. Thank you for keeping me firmly rooted in mama mode and in hope. Lastly, when I had a long list of reasons why I should not enter the doctoral program, Jason had none. Whatever vii machinations were necessary to make this degree and this research possible, he accomplished with apparent ease, patience, and unending humor and love. viii “Salía de uno y me metí en otro1:” A grounded theory approach to understanding the violence-migration nexus among Central American women in the United States Laurie Cook Heffron, PhD The University of Texas at Austin, 2015 Supervisor: Noël Busch-Armendariz The Northern Triangle of Central America is the bridge to North America – a bridge on which human crises wrought by violence and exploitation make indelible marks on migrating women. Women fleeing violence and abuse in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras face trauma and adversity during the journey through Mexico and into the U.S. Motivations to find safety and economic security are woven into the vulnerabilities and the strengths of migrating women. Research has not adequately explored how domestic and sexual violence impact and are impacted by migration, how women respond to risks, nor the role of motherhood in the face of violence. 1 “Salía de uno ye me metí en otro” is a verbatim quote from Hortensia (a pseudonym), one of the migrant women who participated in this research. She used this phrase to express that, in leaving or fleeing one set of violent circumstances, she found herself in yet another. ix Grounded in feminist and transnational frameworks, this study used constructivist grounded theory to explore the violence-migration nexus. In-depth interviews were conducted with 19 adult women recently migrated to the U.S. from El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. Findings include textual accounts of women’s motivations to migrate, migration decision-making, travel logistics, and exposure to danger. The study yielded rich description of multiple types of violence encountered by women, as precipitating factors for migration, during border-crossing, and following arrival in the U.S., including sexual, domestic, gang, and state violence. These data reveal ways that types of violence are interconnected across multiple categories of violence and throughout migration. Findings also include thematic analysis of ways women weigh risks of migrating, resistance and shared survival strategies, in addition to motherhood in the context of violence. Analysis and interpretation of interactions among thematic elements result in a provisional theoretical framework to describe the violence-migration nexus encountered by Central American migrant women, reflecting a series of attempts to escape danger only to land in a new dangerous situation, with new backdrops of micro, meso, and macro-level factors of violence and new landscapes of solidarity and resistance strategies.