Domestic Violence and Violence

Domestic Violence in the Latina Community

Domestic violence is an ongoing issue that experienced worldwide. Many of the victims of domestic violence are women. Although women experience domestic violence regardless of culture or societal norms, certain populations may experience a higher incidence of domestic violence than others. Latinas exist in a culture that values male dominance. Such a culture places women as having to serve the man and behave in an obedient and submissive manner. By adhering to these ideas of masculinity and femininity, the imbalance of power can lead to increased occurrence of domestic violence. Although Latinas have made strides in recognizing and fighting domestic violence, many still do not recognize domestic violence when they encounter. This essay aims to help identify why Latinas may not recognize or report domestic violence, why domestic violence occurs in the Latina community, and greater recognition of domestic violence amongst Latinas.

In "Prevalence, Perpetrators, and Characteristics of Witnessing Parental Violence and Adult Dating in Latina, East Asian, South Asian, and Middle Eastern Women" researchers identify what may make certain populations of women more vulnerable to domestic violence. Latinas for example, live in cultures that honor machismo attitudes among males. Moreover, in those societies, Latin women are expected to be submissive and obedient because the male is the head of the household and produces most if not all the income. Such hypermasculinity can lead to justification of inequality and violence due to the male's need to maintain such a power imbalance. "Traditional gender roles, with males being identified as dominant and powerful and females being identified as sacrificing, suffering, and accepting, may further promote the utilization of family violence to preserve the honor and structure of the family unit. (Maker and DeRoon-Cassini 635)

Women in Latin cultures often face extreme criticism from peers if they deviate from the expected norms. For example, women in Latin countries are expected to cook and clean the house. Even when Latinas move to a different setting like the United States, that role must still be fulfilled. The researchers note the enforcement of domestic spheres across various ethnic populations. When women deviate from these domestic spheres, the imbalance generated may create a need in the man to correct it to restore order. Hence why domestic violence may occur amongst Latina populations.

In looking at the occurrence of domestic violence itself among Latinas, perception plays an important role. Another article titled: "Examining the Relationship Between Latina's Perceptions About What Constitutes Domestic Violence and Domestic Violence Victimization" discusses such perceptions and tries to provide a better perspective on domestic violence and the mindsets often accompanied in these scenarios. The article opens with a statistic of one in four Latinas in the United States experiencing domestic violence. Such numbers appear higher than white female American populations suggesting the problem could be due to culture.

Aside from the statistics of increased depression, substance abuse, and physical health problems, the researchers identified that younger Latina women who are impoverished experience higher rates of domestic violence. Having more children in the household can also contribute to the likelihood of experiencing domestic violence. Despite evidence pointing to domestic violence being high within the Latino community, not many of these instances are reported. The reason being is the issue is categorized by Latinas as a family issue not a social issue that could have serious public and individual health consequences. "Some have argued that traditional cultural values that support male dominance make it more difficult for Latinos, especially more newly immigrated Latinos and those with lower levels of acculturation, to identify domestic violence as a problem." (Kulkarni, et al. 183)

Additionally, compared to their Anglo counterparts, Latinas have a narrowed definition of domestic violence. What this means is many incidents that would otherwise be categorized as domestic violence would be considered normal for Latinas. Only the more severe occurrences of domestic violence would be reported. When Latinas minimize aspects of abuse they minimize the emotional, economic control, and sexual aspects of abuse and accept it as 'normal'. Such normalization within the Latino community acts as a barrier to individuals seeking help and decreases potential victim support in Latin families.

Without victim support and normalizing attitudes over the majority of domestic violence incidents, Latinas are left with few options. This could explain the decreased wiliness to report domestic violence crimes in the Latina community. Couple this with the factors identified, Latina women who are young and impoverished may have little to no options to not only escape their domestic violence situation, but also seek help if they do manage to leave. The evidence that suggests Latinas do not have the resources to escape domestic violence provides a clearer understanding of why domestic violence among the Latina community is so high.

Aside from normalization of domestic violence, other barriers may exist that decrease reporting. Some of these again, could be cultural, others could simply be language barriers. In "Talking About Interpersonal Violence: Cultural Influences on Latina's Identification and Disclosure of Sexual Assault and Intimate Partner Violence", researchers explain certain cultural influences stigmatize disclosure, making identification of instances of partner violence and sexual assault harder. By conducting a series of focus groups that comprised of Spanish-speaking Latinas, the researchers managed to identify gender role ideologies along with taboos and familism as main reasons for reduced disclosure of abuse. Like the first article, the hyper masculine and hyper feminine aspects of Latin culture permeate the mindsets of the women interviewed, showing limited options for these women regarding domestic violence reporting and domestic violence awareness.

Machismo encourages Latin men regardless of if they are abroad or in the United States, to act dominant and sexually aggressive. They need to establish their masculinity by dominating and controlling a woman. This usually comes in the form of marriage and having the woman maintain the household. Marianisma is the female equivalent of machismo and enables society to place pressure on Latinas to remain chaste and pure. Therefore, if a woman is sexually assaulted, she may keep it a secret due to the negative attention she may receive from her social circles for becoming impure. "This emphasis on chastity, and women's responsibility for maintaining it, may limit women's ability to identify physical and sexual abuse if they blame themselves for these acts. Feelings of shame for violating these roles may also make it difficult for survivors to disclose acts of violence committed against them." (Ahrens, et al. 285)

The same can be said of domestic violence. Latinas are positioned to be responsible for upkeep of the household. If the household is torn apart because the woman reports abuse, she may be seen as being wrong for her actions. The Latin community expects its women to accept abuse and do everything to maintain the household. The same shame experienced from sexual assault can also be seen in domestic violence situations. Since most domestic violence is not seen as a crime by those in the Latin community, reporting these incidents could cause people within the Latin woman's social circles to judge and shame her.

Although briefly mentioned, a main barrier for help also comes in the form of language. Latinas living in the United States may not have access to certain resources because they do not speak English. Some of the women in the focus group only spoke Spanish and noted language as a potential barrier for getting help. "Barriers Preventing Latina Immigrants from Seeking Advocacy Services for Domestic Violence Victims: A Qualitative Analysis" is an article detailing the kinds of barriers Latinas experience when confronting a domestic violence situation.

Although some Latinas experience language barriers because they cannot speak English, there are other barriers. "Those barriers include unstable residency status, language barriers, experiences of institutional racism and discrimination, and gender and economic inequality. These intersecting factors inhibit Latina victims' ability to come forward to report the abuse and access institutional services." (Reina and Lohman 479) Many in the Latina community come from humble households with little money. This could be due to living in an economically unstable country to migrating to a new country. Whatever the case, the lack of financial stability generates limited resources for Latinas looking for help with their domestic violence issues.

The researchers mentioned unstable residency status. This is a direct result of poverty. Although not all Latinas are impoverished, many are as a result of lack of quality employment opportunities, and living in a culture that promotes men as heads of households. Without a good paying job, most Latinas are stuck in housing situations that offer little in terms of stability and long-term living. Should a Latina escape her domestic violence situation, due to having little money she may have to go to a shelter or some other halfway home if she manages to get the resources needed to apply for these places. This explains even further, why Latinas may be less likely to report domestic violence.

"Arrested Justice: The Multifaceted Plight of Immigrant Latinas who faced Domestic Violence" examines the struggles immigrant Latinas face. The previous articles detailed the barriers Latinas face with getting help. They may not know the language or they may not have stable homes, or the money to move out of a difficult situation. These same obstacles are magnified with immigrant Latinas. American born Latinas do not have the kinds of barriers immigrant Latinas do. For example, although machismo is still part of American Latin culture, it is not as pervasive as in Latin cultures in Latin countries.

Immigrant Latinas that come from Latin countries must not only learn how to live in a foreign world, but must also try to maintain the roles they have learned to live with because of how they were raised. That struggle can turn into problems that exacerbate the situations that lead to domestic violence and lack of domestic violence reporting. Vidales notes that the Latin community, especially the immigrant Latin community in the United States has the highest rate of high school drop outs. "Latinos in the U.S. have the lowest educational attainment rates and income when compared to other ethnic groups. This economic marginality is reflected by lower annual family income and higher school dropout rates, especially among Mexicans born outside the United States." (Vidales 538) Without a high level of education Latinas may not be knowledgeable on what to do with domestic violence situations or have the training to acquire gainful employment that could remove them from such situations.