Effects of Domestic Violence on African American Women

Effects of Domestic Violence on African- American Women: Opinion Paper
Issue and History of the Issue
Young women are primary victims of domestic violence and it has been estimated that every minute, 20 people suffer from domestic violence in the U.S. (NCADV, 2017). This issue is therefore one that is quite serious, but it is one that particularly impacts the African-American community. African-American women struggle particularly because the African-American family has suffered for decades in the U.S. because of a number of issues—from the incarceration of black men to such an extent that black disproportionately make up a greater percentage of the prison population than any other group to the fact that black culture has been abused by the pushing of drugs culture and liberalism into the homes and streets of black communities. However, this issue goes all the way back to the days of slavery when black women were used and abused by their Masters on plantations (Franklin, 2000). That tradition of neglect and violence has continued in American culture to this day.
Prevalence/Trends
According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (2017), 40% of black women experience violence from a partner. According to Rennison and Welchans (2000) the numbers are even higher: some 90% of domestic violence survivors are African-American women according to their analysis. African-American women also experience high rates of mental abuse and 20% of the African-American female population will be raped at some point in their lives (Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2017). Black women are also 2.5x more likely to be murdered by a man than white women are (Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 2017). This type of violence is clearly trending in the wrong direction and the continued abandonment of families by fathers and the continued promotion of negative stereotypes in media do nothing to reduce the prevalence.
Literature Review
The literature on this issue shows startling findings. Bent-Goodley (2001) identifies the issue as stemming from the socio-economic issues, the race issues, and sexism issues that plague the African-American community today. Ultimately, it is shown to be a cultural problem, as much of the cultural inputs that influence and inform this community contain negative stereotypes. Women in hip hop videos are generally portrayed as being strippers there to satisfy the male ego and nothing more—so that when the satisfaction wears off the male feels he has the license to react violently—a theme found in much of hip hop and gangsta rap music (Rebollo-Gil & Moras, 2012).
African-American women are thus negatively portrayed in media and therefore in society they are viewed in similar ways, which is explained by Bandura (2018) in sociological terms this way: the three main elements that influence behavior are peers, groups and media. Therefore, if media perpetuates the idea that women are somehow less than equal to men in terms of having dignity and deserving love and respect, men in society are going to embrace those attitudes that they are shown by the media they consume. As entire populations consume these media, the notions are further reinforced by the fact that peers and groups all are sharing the same attitudes and demeanors, and therefore the individual’s attitude towards women is formed by peers, groups and media and all are essentially conveying the same message because peers and groups are all under the thumb or spell of media representations. This is essentially the argument that Adorno and Horkheimer made in their critique of the culture industry, which they argued is responsible for shaping the ways in which people act and think in today’s society.
Snapshots (Case Vignettes)
There are numerous high profile cases this problem. Ray Rice, the Baltimore Ravens running back was suspended from his team when video surfaced of him punching his fiancé Janay and knocking her unconscious (Jones, 2014). The footage was shocking for many because it was a level of violence that most people in white America never see. Yet there it was on film captured by security camera footage: a black woman being knocked cold by the man she was about to marry as though it were just another day in the life of an African-American couple.
Whitney Houston is another example. She was the victim of husband Bobby Brown’s violence towards her for years. It all started when Houston’s star turn rose above his: her breakthrough role in the film The Bodyguard catapulted her to another level of stardom and that made him jealous. He became a different person, felt like second fiddle to her celebrity, and he lashed out in anger with years of mental and physical abuse poured out on her (Lee, 2017). Houston stuck around for many years because she was co-dependent: she could not imagine a life without him.
Singer Rihanna is another case: her abuse was caused by Chris Brown, and it should be noted at this point that each of these cases is a high-publicity one involving celebrities who are not from a poor socio-economic background. They are rich and famous and yet still struggle with this culture of violence. Since that is the case for them, it can only be imagined how much harder it is for African American women who are impoverished and in a much less comfortable position.
Summary and Recommendations: My Opinion
In my opinion, culture is the number one problem impacting this issue. Black America has been run into the ground for decades—and, in fact, it was never even really given a chance following the abolition of slavery at the end of the Civil War. From sharecropping to the abuse of blacks under Jim Crow rules all the way into the 20th century, it has been one non-stop parade of racist ideologies infecting every sphere of the nation’s culture. Black culture has done a lot of good when not undermined by drugs and crime and family disintegration. However, since the end of the Civil Rights Movement, blacks have been persecuted by the criminal justice system. They have been exploited by Big Media and projected in a thuggish manner by the culture industry. This projection has been embraced by the population overall and so a mentality of thuggishness and acceptable violence has pervaded black culture as a result.
My recommendation is that the culture be addressed, that blacks stand up and stop accepting these projections. Kanye West is right when he argues that black communities are still being kept on a plantation in their minds. They need to have more respect for themselves and for their women in particularly. The women need to stop allowing themselves to be objectified and turned into eye candy for the male gaze so that producers can make millions off their images and bodies. It is a form of prostitution that simply exacerbates the situation and devalues women in the eyes of men. That cycle contributes to the cycle of domestic violence. The culture therefore has to change. The black community needs more positive role models like Candace Owens and Kanye West and Malcolm X who turned his own life around, stopped being a thug, married and found religion. Culture has to start in this way and that will help to address this issue.
References
Adorno, T., & Horkheimer, M. (2007). The culture industry: Enlightenment as mass deception. Stardom and celebrity: A reader, 34.
Bandura, A. (2018). Toward a psychology of human agency: Pathways and reflections.  Perspectives on Psychological Science, 13(2), 130-136.
Bent-Goodley, T.B. (2001). Eradicating domestic violence in the African American community: A literature review and action agenda. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse: A Review Journal, 2,316-330.
Franklin, D.L. (2000). What\\'s love got to do with it? Understanding and healing the rift Between Black men and women. New York: Simon and Schuster
NCADV. (2017). Statistics. Retrieved from https://ncadv.org/statistics
Institute for Women’s Policy Research. (2017). Violence Against Black Women – Many Types, Far-reaching Effects. Retrieved from https://iwpr.org/violence-black-women-many-types-far-reaching-effects/
Jones, F. (2014). Why Black Women Struggle More With Domestic Violence. Retrieved from https://time.com/3313343/ray-rice-black-women-domestic-violence/
Lee, C. (2017). Inside Whitney Houston’s Violent Marriage to Bobby Brown. Retrieved from https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-whitney-houstons-violent-marriage-to-bobby-brown
Rebollo?Gil, G., & Moras, A. (2012). Black women and black men in hip hop music: misogyny, violence and the negotiation of (white?owned) space. The Journal of Popular Culture, 45(1), 118-132.
Rennison, C.M.& Welchans, S. (2000, May). Intimate partner violence. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.