Nguyen was Vietnamese by birth. She married an American who already had children. There was disharmony and conflict within the family. Nguyen experienced verbal and psychological abuse from her husband and disrespect from her stepchildren.
The stress eventually became unbearable and she finally shot her husband and stepdaughter, wounding them. Authorities subsequently charged her with two counts of aggravated assault. She attempted the defense of "battered person syndrome," with a twist, however. She didn't allege any physical abuse. She alleged disrespect and verbal abuse as causing her to act, and argued that the court should allow expert testimony establishing that verbal threats and emotional abuse alone can lead to the development of the syndrome in the absence of physical abuse. Nguyen argued that a political scientist should be allowed to testify as to cultural differences those make Vietnamese women more vulnerable to verbal attacks.
The trial court did not allow either of the two experts' testimony presented to the jury about the battered person syndrome. Subsequently she was convicted on both charges.
Holding: The Court affirmed the lower court's exclusion of the testimony by both experts explaining that verbal threats without "actual or attempted violence perpetrated by the victims," are not sufficient to trigger the defense. The Court would not allow the defendant to get the evidence in by either of the two routes attempted-emotional duress and also heightened vulnerability due to cultural differences. The Court elaborated on the second issue by pointing out that the fact that deadly force might be an appropriate response in some cultures is not relevant to Georgia law.
The Georgia Supreme Court recently granted review in this matter. So we will have to wait and see what requirements the high court sets for the battered person defense doctrine under Georgia law.
Charles Kemp, R.N., M.A. comments: The Nguyen case illustrates the cognitive dissonance that may occur in the confluence of Vietnamese and western cultures. Nguyen was verbally threatened by her husband and verbally disrespected by both her husband and his daughter. While verbal or physical abuse from a husband is not necessarily an aberration in Vietnamese culture, many Vietnamese view disrespect from a child as "parent abuse."
Any discussion or consideration of Vietnamese refugees living in the Western world should take into account the following issues:
1. Processes of acculturation or assimilation-Vietnamese culture, especially rural, are radically different from western cultures;
2. Grief-for loss of country, heritage, family, other losses;
3. Long-term effects of physical and/or psychological trauma.
All these factors are operational to some extent and in differing degrees of severity in the lives of virtually all Vietnamese; and difficulties in any may have consequences in any or all areas of life.
To a far greater extent than in the West, family is central to all aspects of Vietnamese culture. Family roles and structure are clearly prescribed in the culture and there is a complicated kinship terminology in which each relationship is (or should be) clearly understood and followed. Thus an "aunt" is not just the sister of one's mother or father, but an actual extension of one's mother and father, an elder, and one who commands respect. Any deviation from the norm in family relationships, especially where respect for elders is concerned, is a serious matter. In traditional Vietnamese culture, individual autonomy is expected to be subsumed under the family as a whole and the expected role fulfillment of individuals.
Filial piety (kinh trong cha me), the cornerstone of roles within the family, requires that children respect and obey their parents without question. These duties extend beyond the death of the parents as evidenced by maintenance of a shrine in the home and maintenance of family tombs. Vietnamese living in the west are expected to maintain a shrine in the home, to help provide financial support for family in Vietnam and help maintain ancestral graves (Tho cung to tien). Worship is a family activity conducted in the home and at least some of the objects of worship or active veneration are deceased family members.
If Nguyen reacted as expected to cultural norms, she experienced the threats from her husband as less serious than the disrespect from her stepdaughter and the coalition between her husband and his daughter in opposition to her. Further complicating the picture, Nguyen might well have magnified her plight because, in her view, the abuse would not end with death but continue on into the next life where she would not be remembered, honored or worshiped in accordance with tradition.
Was Nguyen battered? In her mind, consistent with traditional Vietnamese culture, it is likely that she was traumatized not only because of abuse occurring in the present, but because of her expectations for the same or worse fate in the afterlife. A majority of those who share her cultural heritage might not agree that Nguyen's violent resolution was appropriate or acceptable in Vietnamese Culture. They would, however, be expected to sympathize with her plight.
| Patricia A. Tyra Professor Emerita |
Dr. Patricia A. Tyra, Ed. D., RN comments: Nguyen reports verbal or psychological abuse. Generally the cycle of abuse is characterized by a pattern of control, coercion, and assaults that are used to dominate or force compliance by a partner or spouse. Without physical abuse there may be emotional (coercive intimidation and control), sexual or economic abuse.
Overall, the evidence presented does not fit the profile of the small percentage of battered women who have killed their partner. However, the defendant may have been suffering severe psychological abuse and most likely was socially isolated (two of the profile characteristics) since she spoke English poorly and had no Vietnamese community or Buddhist temple available to her. Nguyen, by report, was verbally abused, humiliated, and degraded.
The defendant's age suggests she might have lived in Vietnam during the war years. Therefore she or family members may have been refugees and experienced Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Clinical and research data on Southeast Asian refugees from Cambodia and Vietnam reveal their exposure to four such traumatic experiences (deprivation, physical injury or torture, incarceration or re-education and witnessing killing and torture, Mattson, 1993, and Mollica et. al. 1987) during the wars in their homeland, during escapes and while in refugee camps. The defendant may have suffered from such experiences.
In addition, there are probably acculturation problems. The family had only been in the US for a couple of years. Southeast Asian males new to this country often have a difficult time finding appropriate work, thus their status as head of household erodes often resulting in abusive behavior and alcoholism. Children, learning English in school and adapting to American customs and norms, become family spokesmen (a role reversal) and resist adhering to traditional cultural values and customs. Children in this family did not appear to be adhering to traditional family norms, and their situation was compounded by the absence of their natural mother.
For a Vietnamese woman (like the defendant whose English was limited) to answer intimate personal questions, a female interpreter sensitive to the culture and the issue would be needed. Probing defense and prosecutor questions would also be difficult for her to answer. There are cultural restraints against expressing hostility or showing "weakness" of the mind by describing emotions because this interferes with self-control. Direct and delicate questions can not easily be answered and may illicit "yes" answers which tend to reflect either an "avoidance of confrontation or a desire to please the addressee, rather than an affirmation of truth" (p.410, Nguyen, Western Journal of Medicine, March, 1985). Silence, in fact, is considered a virtue, with open expression of emotions considered to be poor taste. There is a Vietnamese saying "Birds are nice when they sing clearly" reflecting the virtue of speaking properly. (Mollica & Son, 1989).
There may well have been verbal and psychological abuse compounded by cultural norms and family dynamics. It is not unusual for battered women to hide their abuse for years. Being isolated by culture and language is an added barrier. Experts on Southeast Asian culture and violence against women would have helped all involved understand Nguyen. State v. Ciskie (1988) was the first case to allow the use of expert testimony to explain the behavior and mental state of an adult rape victim. The testimony was used to show why a victim of repeated physical and sexual assault by an intimate partner would not immediately call the police or take action. In the Nguyen case, however the court did not hear expert testimony to explain the defendant's behavior or mental state.
Contributors to Psychological Abuse in a Vietnamese Household
- Disrespect to parent
- Alcoholism
- Children who adopt American norms
- Poor Verbal expression of emotions
- Ease of hiding abuse
- Poor acculturation of parent
- Grief of parent for losses
