Top

Published in:

01-05-2015 | Original Article

Barriers Preventing Latina Immigrants from Seeking Advocacy Services for Domestic Violence Victims: A Qualitative Analysis

Authors: Angelica S. Reina, Brenda J. Lohman

Published in: Journal of Family Violence | Issue 4/2015

Abstract

Domestic violence is a national public health problem resulting in numerous deaths, physical injuries, and mental and emotional disorders (Malley-Morrison and Hines 2007). While domestic violence influences communities of all races, socioeconomic statuses, educational levels, and geographical settings (Hass, Dutton, and Orloff 2000), some groups, such as Latina immigrants, are especially vulnerable as they face additional challenges. The purpose of this study is to document, analyze, and report the voices of Latina immigrants in Central Iowa as they share their experiences with outreach services. Through semi-structured individual interviews and a focus group with undocumented Latinas, we examine the multiple challenges faced by this vulnerable population. Our findings reveal that intersecting structural and institutional conditions make it more complicated for Latina victims to respond to partner abuse. Some of the most salient barriers include: unstable residency status, experiences of institutional discrimination, and economic inequality. Policy recommendations and implications are also discussed.

Bloom, L. R. (1998). Under the sign of hope: Feminist methodology and narrative interpretation. Albany: State University of New York Press.

Boonzaier, F. A., & Schalkwyk, S. V. (2011). Narrative possibilities: poor women of color and the complexities of intimate partner violence. Violence Against Women, 17, 267–286.CrossRefPubMed

Bourdieu, P. (1989). Social space and symbolic power. Sociological Theory, 7, 14–25.CrossRef

Bui, H. N., & Morash, M. (1999). Domestic violence in the Vietnamese immigrant community: an exploratory study. Violence Against Women, 5, 769–795.CrossRef

Conyers, J., Jr. (2007). The 2005 reauthorization of the violence against women act: why congress acted to expand protections to immigrant victims. Violence Against Women, 13, 457–468.CrossRefPubMed

Deeb-Sossa, N., & Bickham Mendez, J. (2008). Enforcing borders in the Nuevo South: shifting identities and imagined communities. Gender and Society, 22, 613–638.CrossRef

Dutton, M. A., Orloff, L. E., & Hass, G. A. (2000). Characteristics of help-seeking behaviors, resources and service needs of battered immigrant Latinas: legal and policy implications. Georgetown Journal on Poverty Law & Policy, 7, 245–305.

Erez, E., & Hartley, C. (2003). Battered immigrant women and the legal system: a therapeutic jurisprudence perspective. Western Criminology Review, 4, 155–169.

Fry, R. (2010). Hispanics, high school dropouts and the GED. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.

Gill, P., Stewart, K., Treasure, E., & Chadwick, B. (2008). Methods of data collection in qualitative research: interviews and focus groups. British Dental Journal, 204, 291–295.CrossRefPubMed

Gordon, L. (1994). Pitied but not entitled: Single mothers and the history of welfare, 1890–1935. New York: Free Press.

Hass, G. A., Dutton, M. A., & Orloff, L. E. (2000). Lifetime prevalence of violence against Latina immigrants: legal and policy implications. Domestic Violence: Global Responses, 7, 93–113.

Hazen, A. L., & Soriano, F. I. (2007). Experiences with intimate partner violence among Latina women. Violence Against Women, 13, 562–582.CrossRefPubMed

Ingram, E. M., McClelland, D. J., Martin, J., Caballero, M. F., Mayorga, M. T., & Gillespie, P. (2010). Experiences of immigrant women who self-petition under the violence against Women Act. Violence Against Women, 16, 858–880.CrossRefPubMed

Jackson, H. C. (2008). Immigration raid in Iowa largest ever in US. The Associated Press. Retrieved from http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-05-13-822092385_x.htm. Accessed 28 Feb 2012.

Malley-Morrison, K., & Hines, D. A. (2007). Attending to the role of race/ethnicity in family violence research. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 22, 943–972.CrossRefPubMed

Mears, D. P., & Visher, C. A. (2005). Trends in understanding and addressing domestic violence. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20, 204–211.CrossRefPubMed

Menjívar, C. (1999). The intersection of work and gender: Central American immigrant women and employment in California. In P. Hondagneu-Sotelo (Ed.), Gender and US immigration: Contemporary trends. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Menjívar, C., & Salcido, O. (2002). Immigrant women and domestic violence: common experiences in different countries. Gender and Society, 16, 898–920.CrossRef

Moe, A. M. (2007). Silenced voices and structured survival: battered women’s help seeking. Violence Against Women, 13, 676–699.CrossRefPubMed

Orloff, L., & Garcia, O. (2013). Dynamics of domestic violence experienced by immigrant victims. In K. Sullivan & L. Orloff (Eds.), Breaking barriers: A completed guide to legal rights and resources for battered immigrants (pp.1–23). The National Immigrant Women’s Advocacy Project (NIWAP): American University, Washington College of Law and Legal Momentum.

Perilla, J. L. (1999). Domestic violence as a human right issue: the case of immigrant Latinos. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 21, 107–133.CrossRef

Purvin, D. M. (2007). At the crossroads and in the crosshairs: social welfare policy and low-income women’s vulnerability to domestic violence. Social Problems, 54, 188–210.CrossRef

Raj, A., & Silverman, J. (2002). Violence against immigrant women: the roles of culture, context, and legal status on intimate partner violence. Violence Against Women, 8, 367–398.CrossRef

Reina, A., Maldonado, M., & Lohman, B. J. (2013). Undocumented Latina networks and responses to domestic violence in a new immigrant gateway: toward a place-specific analysis. Violence Against Women, 19, 1472–1497.CrossRefPubMed

Reina, A. S., Lohman, B. J., & Maldonado, M. (2014). “He said they’d deport me”: factors influencing domestic violence help-seeking practices among Latina immigrants. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 29, 593–615.

Rivera, J. (1994). Domestic violence against Latinas by Latino males: An analysis of race, national origin, and gender differentials. Boston College Third World Journal, 14, 231–357.

Rivera, J. (2003). The availability of domestic violence services for Latinas in New York State: phase II investigation. Buffalo Public Interest Law Journal, 21, 37–87.

Roberts, A. R., & Roberts, B. S. (2005). Ending intimate abuse: Practical guidance and survival strategies. New York: Oxford University Press.

Rossman, B. B. R. (2001). Longer term effects of children’s exposure to domestic violence. In S. A. Graham-Bermann & J. L. Edleson (Eds.), Domestic violence in the lives of children: The future of research, intervention, and social policy (pp. 35–65). Washington: American Psychological Association.CrossRef

Ryan, C. L., & Siebens, J. (2012). Educational attainment in the United States: 2009. Current population reports. Retrieved July 22, 2013, from http://www.census.gov/prod/2012pubs/p20-566.pdf.

Salcido, O., & Adelman, M. (2004). “He has me tied with the blessed and damned papers”: undocumented-immigrant battered women in Phoenix, Arizona. Human Organization, 63, 162–173.

Tolman, R. M., & Raphael, J. (2000). A review of research on welfare and domestic violence. Journal of Social Issues, 56, 655–682.CrossRef

Valdéz, R., & Juárez, C. (1998). Impacto de la violencia doméstica en la salud mental de las mujeres: análisis y perspectivas en México. [Domestic violence’s impact in women’s mental health: analysis and perspectives in Mexico]. Salud Mental, 21, 1–10.

Vidales, G. T. (2010). Arrested justice: the multifaceted plight of immigrant Latinas who faced domestic violence. Journal of Family Violence, 25, 533–544.CrossRef

Yoshihama, M. (2000). Reinterpreting strength and safety in socio-cultural context: dynamics of domestic violence and experiences of women of Japanese descent. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 3, 201–224.CrossRef

Zabrocki, C., Weine, S., Chen, S., Brajkovic, I., Bahromov, M., Loue, S., Jonbekov, J., & Shoakova, F. (2013). Socio-structural barriers, protective factors, and HIV risk among Central-Asian female migrants in Moscow. Central Asian Journal of Global Health, 2, 1–12.CrossRef

Title: Barriers Preventing Latina Immigrants from Seeking Advocacy Services for Domestic Violence Victims: A Qualitative Analysis
Authors: Angelica S. Reina
Brenda J. Lohman
Publication date: 01-05-2015
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Family Violence / Issue 4/2015
Print ISSN: 0885-7482
Electronic ISSN: 1573-2851
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-015-9696-8

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Barriers Preventing Latina Immigrants from Seeking Advocacy Services for Domestic Violence Victims: A Qualitative Analysis

Abstract

At a glance: The STEP trials

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 4/2015

Factors Associated with the Cessation of Intimate Partner Violence in Women Attending Primary Care in Spain

Achieving a Sustainable Livelihood After Leaving Intimate Partner Violence: Challenges and Opportunities

A Domestic Violence Shelter Parent Training Program for Mothers with Young Children

Patterns and Predictors of Service Use Among Women Who Have Separated from an Abusive Partner

Physicians’ Attitudes and Preparedness to Deal with Intimate Partner Violence Against Women in Serbia

Breaking the Mold: Evaluating a Non-Punitive Domestic Violence Intervention Program