The Effects Of Violence On Hispanic Women Essay

Domestic violence is an issue that has not been given much attention in the Hispanic culture as it is seen as a norm. Domestic violence is defined “as a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power and control over another intimate partner” (justice.gov). Hispanics are affected more than the non-Hispanic populations when it comes to the consequences domestic violence brings and also the constant occurrence of domestic violence in the Hispanic

Intimate partner violence or domestic violence is not only a physical incident between a couple. Domestic Violence encompasses physical, sexual, emotional, economic, and psychological forms taken by a perpetrator against the victim. In Texas 77% of all Hispanic have either themselves or know someone who has experienced some form of domestic violence and 64% of all Hispanic have reported having personally experienced at least one form of domestic violence in their lifetime. This is a 16% difference from the 47% of Texans that have reported

According to data from the 2006 National Survey on the Dynamics of Household Relationships (Encuesta Nacional sobre la Dinámica de las Relaciones en los Hogares,ENDIREH), 10.72 % of Mexican women who are currently married, cohabiting, separated, or divorced have been subject- ed to sexual intimate partner violence (IPV), and 23.72 % have experienced physical violence at the hands of their cur- rent or previous partner….[However], women’s reactions and strategies for seeking help (or not) from public institutions and social networks have not received the same degree of attention” (Frías and Carolina Agoff, 2015).

Furthermore, even if the woman is aware that she is being abused, she may decide not to report the abuse due to various forms of support she receives from her partner. An anonymous survey conducted with South Asian women from ages 18-62 showed that 50.6% of the participants reported that they do not disclose the abuse because their partner provides them with financial and/or social support (Raj & Silverman, 2003). Because these women are less likely to report their experiences with domestic abuse, if they are fortunate enough to escape the abusive household at all, the intensity of the mental illnesses they may develop caused by this abuse is likely to higher due the prolonged time they spent in this toxic situation (Ellsberg et al., 2008).

Illegal, Latina immigrant women experiencing domestic violence are highly unlikely to report this violence to law enforcement and are unable take legal action against their husbands. These women live in constant fear of being discovered and deported and consequently are unlikely to view law enforcement as a helpful resource. Immigrant women are more likely experience domestic violence due to a number of factors. Because of their illegal status, these women are more likely to live in poverty which, according to Bergen, means that they are more likely to experience male to female interpersonal violence (Bergen 2005). High in-home stress coupled with the constant fear of being discovered and deported also leads to a higher likelihood of violence (Barnett, Miller-Perrin, Perrin, 2011). Even if these women want to leave their home and take action against their husbands, most are economically dependent on their partners. While the United States has the Violence Against Women Act, or VAWA, which can aid illegal immigrants experiencing domestic violence in obtaining a visa, the fear of deportation keeps many women from seeking aid from social services and law enforcement. The lack of resources and fear ultimately allows domestic violence to perpetuate amidst an already vulnerable, invisible population.

In a research study conducted by Fontes et., al (2012) Latino and African American groups were separated and asked questions about child sexual abuse. They found that Latina women, especially the Spanish speaking Latinas appeared guarded in their responses and physically tense during the entire discussion around the topic of sexual abuse. They were observed clutching their purses. The explanations provided state that the women could have been less acculturated and could have been contained by cultural taboos

Hispanic women who are able to escape their perpetrator may be faced with barriers that impact their ability to rise above a lower socioeconomic status. Community resources may provide some aid but are not suffice to sustain a family with a single parent. Hispanic women who are entrapped in an abusive relationship may feel financially obligated to remain with their perpetrator. Some barriers identified by Shah and Shah (2010) include low educational attainment and unemployment post pregnancy. Physical problems women are exposed to as a result of domestic violence include increased instances of gynecological problems, sexually transmitted infections, and urinary tract infections.

Another group of vulnerable people subject to trauma or post-traumatic stress disorder related to immigration are women. There are many reasons as to why female immigrants from Latin America may develop post-traumatic stress disorder such as sexual abuse. An overwhelming 60% of Central American immigrant women experience sexual violence compared to 22.1% of non-hispanics in the United States. They face unique experiences compared to other Latinx groups, which is why the percentage of Central Americans who face sexual violence is so high. Central American women may experience sexual abuse before and during their migration through Mexico.

Domestic violence is abuse caused by family which included physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, economical abuse, psychological abuse, threats, stalking and cyberstalking. It is often referred to the number one health concern of the United States of America and Texas being the number one with the most cases. However, in most cases, the victim is not aware of their abuse because of their lack of knowledge to the situation and is often left untaken care of for long periods of time. In addition to Texas being first, illegal immigrants are on top of the chart as well and they’re too being untaken care of because of their fear of deportation to their origin of country. Children all over the world aren't being educated with the correct

As discussed in this paper, these women do not realize they are being victimized by their partners because of cultural values and influences. Using the Social-ecological model, it allows us to understand how violence may be prevented and the potential risk and protective factors that a Latina/Hispanic women may have (Cummings et al., 2012). When facing intimate partner violence, survivors often resort to formal and informal support systems such as, police, counselors, immediate family, and friends (Postmus et al., 2014; Rizo & Macy, 2011). Yet, these people may cause barriers when Latina/Hispanic women are in search for guidance. Cultural ties, gender roles, and religion play a role in determining why a women did not report the violence she has experienced (Gonzalez-Guarda et al., 2013; Kyriakakis, 2014; Rizo & Macy,

Like so many of the topics studied by investigators in our research institutions, domestic violence does not happen in a vacuum. In an attempt to better understand DV as it occurs in the real world with the accompanying compounding issues which often occur with DV (e.g. addiction, financial problems, health issues, language barriers, etc.), I propose a two-part research project. The first part will focus on undocumented DV survivors and their experiences and journey toward seeking assistance/resources for DV. The second part will focus on the perpetrator of DV and attempt to identify typologies of batterers. Taken together the hope is that this research project will provide a better understanding of domestic violence as experienced in the community.

Domestic violence involves the systematic use of force, threats and intimidation by one partner upon another in order for the dominating partner to have control over the victim. In general, women who are abused physically are often isolated. Their partners tend to control their lives to a great extent as well as verbally degrade them. Even though the Latina women are particularly vulnerable to domestic violence because of their culture, it does not mean that this situation does not exist in other societies. Domestic violence happens in all races, religions and social statuses. It could appear in any family and in order to prevent it, everyone in the society must have knowledge of the problem, and

•Approximately 4 out of every 10 non-Hispanic Black women (43.7%), 4 out of every 10 American Indian or Alaska Native women (46.0%), and 1 in 2 multiracial non-Hispanic women (53.8%) have been the victim of rape, physical violence, and/or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime.

It is a good thing that you had the opportunity to gain knowledge and interact with Latina immigrants DV survivors. I can believe that what they experience is something they wish they did not endure, and had the chance to seek out for help. The article by Silva-Martinez & Murty was defiantly interesting to read as we can tell that it relates to the social work ethics. When seeking participates who are battered Latina women, it is not as easy to have them express their experiences of domestic violence before, during, and after such a issue like that. As in the article and in your post, developing a relationship and trust is important when working this population. There should be some form of interaction with them so that they are able to bring

The incidence of domestic violence, typically perpetrated by men in the relationships, is so astronomically high that the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) approximates that nearly forty-percent of women have suffered through some sort of violence. This number, however, is only an estimate, since more comprehensive data remains unavailable due to the silence that enshrouds cases of domestic violence. The image of Table 1: Domestic Violence in Latin America, provided by Stanford University, furnishes some alarming and insightful information surrounding studies of domestic violence in individual