Intersectionality instead of the Cultural Deficit Hypothesis

Abstract

Nadja Lehmann’s study of female migrants in women’s shelters shows what importance the intersectional approach has for the scientific debate on the problem of domestic violence, in particular for the research on violence against female migrants. She juxtaposes the “cultural deficit hypothesis”—in which domestic violence against female migrants is seen as justified by the culture of the respective country of origin—which continues to dominate German scholarly and public discourse with the suggestion that this violence is rooted in a multiplicity of causes.