ABSTRACT
British-Indians experience divorce within their particular context, shaped by their ethnicities, migration histories, and particular protective and risk features that are present in their environments. It is essential therefore, to understand the context for British-Indian children and obtain an insight into the development and practices of the British-Indian community. This is important to understand the environmental processes and practices, their rationale and how they influence children’s development. This chapter also aims to present the British-Indian community within a larger socio-historical perspective to enable a culturally sensitive paradigm that does not pathologise the community. It is in fact only within this developmental context that the impact of divorce for British-Indian children can be understood. Indeed, Weaver (1999) indicates that for development of culturally sensitivity, four areas of knowledge are important: 1. Knowledge about diversity and difference within groups, 2. Knowledge about history, including histories of oppression, feelings about it, reactions to it, 3. Knowledge about culture that includes wider world views, values, practices, communication patterns and 4. Contemporary realities which indicate current issues, and concerns. This chapter aims to provide a background towards understanding some aspects of these four knowledge forms for the British-Indian community.
