New Immigrant Domestic Violence Survivors: Speak Out Bravely, Someone Will Help
New immigrant women in Taiwan who survived domestic violence share their stories, emphasizing the importance of seeking help. Despite language barriers and lack of information, they bravely reached out to support organizations and rebuilt their lives.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: May 9, 2026 at 15:55
- 🔍 Collected: May 9, 2026 at 16:01 (6 min after Published)
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: May 9, 2026 at 19:27 (3h 26m after Collected)
Central News Agency
(Central News Agency reporter Shih Hsiu-chuan, Taipei, May 9th) They once cried in silence under the fear of domestic violence, without relatives in Taiwan, thinking that life could only be like this, until they sought external help and walked out of the darkness. This group of new immigrant sisters tells those with similar experiences through their own stories: don't bear it alone, there are resources in the outside world, and someone will help.
On the day of the exclusive interview with the Central News Agency, Ah Yue (pseudonym) took leave from work. Sitting in the living room, she calmly recounted the scars of past domestic violence, while white fungus soup was simmering gently in the kitchen – a snack for her two children after school.
New immigrant Ah Yue: "If you've been beaten, you must speak out bravely!"
Ah Yue's current life is regular and simple. She rides her scooter to and from work every day, raising her children alone. This ordinary daily life is the happiness she found after walking out of the shadow of domestic violence, a luxury she dared not dream of in the past.
"I'm doing pretty well now. I can support my children, and I've saved some money," said Ah Yue, who is from Vietnam.
Married to Taiwan at 23, Ah Yue's dream of a happy home was shattered three years into her marriage by heavy housework and her ex-husband's fists. About 10 years ago, she was driven out of her home by her ex-husband, without even a change of clothes, and could only rely on her only friend in Taiwan, but was still tracked and harassed by her ex-husband.
At that time, Ah Yue's two children were only 3 and 1 years old. She was beaten multiple times within a year, and she realized that her ex-husband hitting her had become a "habit." "Even if I endured it, it was useless," she resolutely decided to leave home.
With the police's arrangement, Ah Yue lived alone in a shelter and found a job as a caregiver. At this time, her ex-husband sued her in court, demanding NT$230,000 in alimony, which made Ah Yue feel angry and helpless. After passing the financial review of the Legal Aid Foundation, Ah Yue received assistance from a pro bono lawyer and began a nearly three-year divorce and custody lawsuit.
According to the laws at the time, foreign spouses who divorced before obtaining Taiwanese identity might be repatriated.
Ah Yue recalled: "I heard that if I didn't have identity and got divorced, I would have to return to Vietnam. After giving birth to my second child, I immediately applied for identity, fearing that my children would be awarded to him." She was eventually fortunate enough to get her ID card first and won custody two months later.
Thinking back to those days, Ah Yue shed tears of gratitude. "My father, mother, older sister, and younger brother are in Vietnam; no one helped me. In Taiwan, they are not my relatives, but they helped me very diligently, and I am very grateful."
Ah Yue said that during the lawsuit, she didn't understand many legal procedures and couldn't read Chinese. Social workers helped her organize many documents. Social workers also taught her how to ride a scooter and accompanied her to take the driving test. "They drove me there and back; I passed the test on my fifth try." Social workers also helped match her with jobs and took care of her children after school, allowing her to work with peace of mind.
"I think if you're beaten, you must speak out bravely. If someone knows, someone will help; don't endure it," said Ah Yue.
New immigrant Inda: "I had a very hard time, but I also met many good people."
Inda (pseudonym), from Indonesia, also silently endured her husband's physical abuse for many years, until her child told the teacher about the situation at home. It was then, through the teacher's introduction, that she called the Ministry of Health and Welfare's "113 Protection Hotline."
"At that time, I didn't have a Taiwanese ID card, and I only knew that if I got divorced, my child would have to stay with him," Inda recalled her fear at the time. "I just wanted to know what I could do – my child was so young, I couldn't possibly leave him and go back to Indonesia alone."
In addition to the real legal obstacles, Inda also remembered her mother often advising her to accept her fate, and for the sake of her child, "don't talk about divorce at every turn." She was determined to give her child a home with both parents.
Inda endured her husband's temper, who would "hit at every turn." "He hit me, slapped me, and even choked me against the wall." Her young children also often had nightmares, crying out: "Daddy, don't hurt Mommy."
Inda did not move into a shelter and had no plans to divorce. Social welfare units arranged for someone to counsel her husband, helped Inda apply for a protection order, and provided support such as daily necessities, giving her a bit of breathing room in her difficulties.
Life went on day by day until fate intervened again. Her husband, who made a living by driving, first had a major car accident, and his temper became even more irritable. Later, he was diagnosed with cancer, and his attitude slowly improved.
The burden of life then fell on Inda's shoulders. She single-handedly supported the family, working in a small restaurant and taking odd jobs everywhere, taking care of her mother-in-law, husband, and children. While rushing around on her scooter, she often shed silent tears behind her helmet.
Speaking of the past, Inda couldn't help but choke up: "What else can burden me?" She wondered what else fate could do to her, why bad things happened to her one after another. However, she had no complaints, chose to forgive, and was relieved that her husband finally understood that she had always been with him.
Inda said that she had a very hard time in Taiwan, but "many good people helped me." In addition to the long-term support from social workers, the owner of the small restaurant lent money for her husband's surgery, teachers and post office staff introduced her to odd jobs, and the New Immigrant Service Center helped her children apply for scholarships and provided tutoring information. "I haven't forgotten any of it; I will always remember."
New immigrant Xiao Ling from China: Seeking help requires courage, "hope the social safety net is more transparent."
Xiao Ling (pseudonym), a new immigrant from China, had a more exploratory and bumpy path to seeking help.
Xiao Ling understands Chinese, but when she encountered domestic violence, it still took her a long time to find the social safety net resources that could truly help her. She described the process as navigating a maze, taking many "detours" before finally seeing the exit.
Xiao Ling's first experience with abuse from her ex-husband was many years ago. She still keeps the materials from her divorce and custody lawsuit: photos of injuries, blood-stained clothes, and stacks of legal documents.
She said that a few days after she gave birth, before her C-section wound had healed, her ex-husband beat her in the hospital. After her confinement period, she first took her child back to China, but her ex-husband counter-sued her for abducting the child. Later, to find work, she moved away from her hometown, entrusting her child to her mother's care. When her child reached school age, she brought the child back to Taiwan, but her relationship with her ex-husband did not improve, and she continued to suffer domestic violence.
Recalling the past, Xiao Ling said that she has moved on, and some memories have been forgotten. A therapist once told her that the brain sometimes automatically deletes "too painful" fragments. However, when she talks about returning to her hometown to seek employment with her recently weaned child and facing setbacks, only able to rely on her mother for financial support.
(Central News Agency reporter Shih Hsiu-chuan, Taipei, May 9th) They once cried in silence under the fear of domestic violence, without relatives in Taiwan, thinking that life could only be like this, until they sought external help and walked out of the darkness. This group of new immigrant sisters tells those with similar experiences through their own stories: don't bear it alone, there are resources in the outside world, and someone will help.
On the day of the exclusive interview with the Central News Agency, Ah Yue (pseudonym) took leave from work. Sitting in the living room, she calmly recounted the scars of past domestic violence, while white fungus soup was simmering gently in the kitchen – a snack for her two children after school.
New immigrant Ah Yue: "If you've been beaten, you must speak out bravely!"
Ah Yue's current life is regular and simple. She rides her scooter to and from work every day, raising her children alone. This ordinary daily life is the happiness she found after walking out of the shadow of domestic violence, a luxury she dared not dream of in the past.
"I'm doing pretty well now. I can support my children, and I've saved some money," said Ah Yue, who is from Vietnam.
Married to Taiwan at 23, Ah Yue's dream of a happy home was shattered three years into her marriage by heavy housework and her ex-husband's fists. About 10 years ago, she was driven out of her home by her ex-husband, without even a change of clothes, and could only rely on her only friend in Taiwan, but was still tracked and harassed by her ex-husband.
At that time, Ah Yue's two children were only 3 and 1 years old. She was beaten multiple times within a year, and she realized that her ex-husband hitting her had become a "habit." "Even if I endured it, it was useless," she resolutely decided to leave home.
With the police's arrangement, Ah Yue lived alone in a shelter and found a job as a caregiver. At this time, her ex-husband sued her in court, demanding NT$230,000 in alimony, which made Ah Yue feel angry and helpless. After passing the financial review of the Legal Aid Foundation, Ah Yue received assistance from a pro bono lawyer and began a nearly three-year divorce and custody lawsuit.
According to the laws at the time, foreign spouses who divorced before obtaining Taiwanese identity might be repatriated.
Ah Yue recalled: "I heard that if I didn't have identity and got divorced, I would have to return to Vietnam. After giving birth to my second child, I immediately applied for identity, fearing that my children would be awarded to him." She was eventually fortunate enough to get her ID card first and won custody two months later.
Thinking back to those days, Ah Yue shed tears of gratitude. "My father, mother, older sister, and younger brother are in Vietnam; no one helped me. In Taiwan, they are not my relatives, but they helped me very diligently, and I am very grateful."
Ah Yue said that during the lawsuit, she didn't understand many legal procedures and couldn't read Chinese. Social workers helped her organize many documents. Social workers also taught her how to ride a scooter and accompanied her to take the driving test. "They drove me there and back; I passed the test on my fifth try." Social workers also helped match her with jobs and took care of her children after school, allowing her to work with peace of mind.
"I think if you're beaten, you must speak out bravely. If someone knows, someone will help; don't endure it," said Ah Yue.
New immigrant Inda: "I had a very hard time, but I also met many good people."
Inda (pseudonym), from Indonesia, also silently endured her husband's physical abuse for many years, until her child told the teacher about the situation at home. It was then, through the teacher's introduction, that she called the Ministry of Health and Welfare's "113 Protection Hotline."
"At that time, I didn't have a Taiwanese ID card, and I only knew that if I got divorced, my child would have to stay with him," Inda recalled her fear at the time. "I just wanted to know what I could do – my child was so young, I couldn't possibly leave him and go back to Indonesia alone."
In addition to the real legal obstacles, Inda also remembered her mother often advising her to accept her fate, and for the sake of her child, "don't talk about divorce at every turn." She was determined to give her child a home with both parents.
Inda endured her husband's temper, who would "hit at every turn." "He hit me, slapped me, and even choked me against the wall." Her young children also often had nightmares, crying out: "Daddy, don't hurt Mommy."
Inda did not move into a shelter and had no plans to divorce. Social welfare units arranged for someone to counsel her husband, helped Inda apply for a protection order, and provided support such as daily necessities, giving her a bit of breathing room in her difficulties.
Life went on day by day until fate intervened again. Her husband, who made a living by driving, first had a major car accident, and his temper became even more irritable. Later, he was diagnosed with cancer, and his attitude slowly improved.
The burden of life then fell on Inda's shoulders. She single-handedly supported the family, working in a small restaurant and taking odd jobs everywhere, taking care of her mother-in-law, husband, and children. While rushing around on her scooter, she often shed silent tears behind her helmet.
Speaking of the past, Inda couldn't help but choke up: "What else can burden me?" She wondered what else fate could do to her, why bad things happened to her one after another. However, she had no complaints, chose to forgive, and was relieved that her husband finally understood that she had always been with him.
Inda said that she had a very hard time in Taiwan, but "many good people helped me." In addition to the long-term support from social workers, the owner of the small restaurant lent money for her husband's surgery, teachers and post office staff introduced her to odd jobs, and the New Immigrant Service Center helped her children apply for scholarships and provided tutoring information. "I haven't forgotten any of it; I will always remember."
New immigrant Xiao Ling from China: Seeking help requires courage, "hope the social safety net is more transparent."
Xiao Ling (pseudonym), a new immigrant from China, had a more exploratory and bumpy path to seeking help.
Xiao Ling understands Chinese, but when she encountered domestic violence, it still took her a long time to find the social safety net resources that could truly help her. She described the process as navigating a maze, taking many "detours" before finally seeing the exit.
Xiao Ling's first experience with abuse from her ex-husband was many years ago. She still keeps the materials from her divorce and custody lawsuit: photos of injuries, blood-stained clothes, and stacks of legal documents.
She said that a few days after she gave birth, before her C-section wound had healed, her ex-husband beat her in the hospital. After her confinement period, she first took her child back to China, but her ex-husband counter-sued her for abducting the child. Later, to find work, she moved away from her hometown, entrusting her child to her mother's care. When her child reached school age, she brought the child back to Taiwan, but her relationship with her ex-husband did not improve, and she continued to suffer domestic violence.
Recalling the past, Xiao Ling said that she has moved on, and some memories have been forgotten. A therapist once told her that the brain sometimes automatically deletes "too painful" fragments. However, when she talks about returning to her hometown to seek employment with her recently weaned child and facing setbacks, only able to rely on her mother for financial support.