Background
Issues Faced by women of color in intimate partner violence.
Subjected to acts of physical abuse by their partners ( Novisky & Peralta, 2015 ).
Sexually abused by an intimate partner.
Lack of economic independence and financial abuse.
Low economic status leads to limited access to healthcare; both the perpetrator and victims are less likely to receive treatment, thus allowing the cycle to continue.
Low reporting rates due to racial discrimination of people of color and victims are less likely to leave the abusive partner.
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Levels of Oppression
Internalized
Masculinity vs. Femininity culture.
Women of color are made to believe they play a secondary role to men in a relationship ( Lilly, Howell & Graham, 2015 ).
Distorted thinking due to cultural beliefs.
Interpersonal
One group is better than the other and has the right to control.
Need for men dominance over the female.
Men view women as inferior and want to have control.
Men use every means, including physical and verbal abuse, to control women.
Institutional
The people of color have a culture which justifies male dominance over the female.
The mistreatment of women is thus justified and supported by society and its institutions ( Stockman, Hayashi & Campbell , 2015).
The culture of blacks sees women as inferior to men, and men use any means to maintain their dominance.
Further worsened by their race, especially in a society that racially discriminates people of color.
Women of color suffer double oppression, both racism, and domestic violence.
Intersecting Social Identity
A framework for conceptualizing people or social problems into several discriminations ( Lewis & Grzanka, 2016 ).
Social problems originate from multiple sources, including race, gender, gender identity, and class.
Intersectionality identifies identity makers as female or color, which are used to create complex oppression.
Women of color experience oppression in relationships due to their female gender.
They also undergo oppression and cannot get justice due to their color.
Understanding intersectionality theory is necessary to combat prejudice and oppression.
Posttraumatic Slave Syndrome
It provides a framework for placing victims of intimate partner violence into the recovery process ( Vil, Vil & Fairfax, 2019 ).
Understanding the traumatic experience of women of color is essential in designing the most effective interventions.
Understanding the impacts, including physical injury, mental torture, and depression.
Levels of Practice
Micro-Level
Helping victims find health care services for intimate partner violence injuries.
Offering counseling to the victims of violence.
Handling issues of mental health-related to intimate partner violence.
Mainly entails direct contact with both the victims and perpetrators of violence ( Roberson & Wallace, 2016 ).
Mezzo-Level
Working with the victims in a group setting.
Counseling people involved in domestic violence at family and society levels.
Working with communities to identify ways to reduce intimate partner violence.
Working with schools to promote awareness about intimate partner violence response.
Macro-Level
Working with communities’ at large scale as advocates for change.
Promoting social change at community, states, and even at national levels.
Develop interventions, including advocating for policy changes.
Taking part in crafting laws and working with legislators to pass laws that protect the victims ( Katz, 2015 ).
Entails large scale, including both local, state, and the federal government.
Critical Self-Reflection
Working with victims of intimate partner violence to enhance understanding of the problem.
Working with community treatment and counseling centers for victims of intimate partner violence.
Intimate partner violence against women of color has been on the rise, which makes this topic most useful to social workers.
References
Katz, E. (2015). Domestic violence, children's agency and mother–child relationships: Towards a more advanced model. Children & Society , 29 (1), 69-79.
Lewis, J. A., & Grzanka, P. R. (2016). Applying intersectionality theory to research on perceived racism.
Lilly, M. M., Howell, K. H., & Graham-Bermann, S. (2015). World assumptions, religiosity, and PTSD in survivors of intimate partner violence. Violence against women , 21 (1), 87-104.
Novisky, M. A., & Peralta, R. L. (2015). When women tell: Intimate partner violence and the factors related to police notification. Violence against women , 21 (1), 65-86.
Roberson, C., & Wallace, P. H. (2016). Family violence: Legal, medical, and social perspectives . Routledge.
Stockman, J. K., Hayashi, H., & Campbell, J. C. (2015). Intimate partner violence and its health impact on ethnic minority women. Journal of Women's Health , 24 (1), 62-79.
Vil, N. M., St. Vil, C., & Fairfax, C. N. (2019). Posttraumatic Slave Syndrome, the Patriarchal Nuclear Family Structure, and African American Male–Female Relationships. Social work , 64 (2), 139-146.
