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Running head: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Domestic Violence
Perla C. Rivera
Salt Lake Community College

Domestic Violence
As cited by Rivera (1994) in Domestic Violence Against Latinas, ten women die every
day as a result of domestic violence in the United States. Domestic violence can be defined as an
abusive behavior pattern consisting of intimidation, physical assault, sexual assault and other
violent behavior. This pattern of behavior is fueled by a motive of power and control. This
struggle for power and control is imposed by one person to another. Domestic violence is usually
accompanied by emotional abuse, emotional control, psychological trauma and in the worst cases
results in death. Anybody can be at risk of domestic violence as abusers come from all cultures,
religions, races, and economic levels. (What is Domestic Violence, 2015). Also, abusers may not
be able to be identified at the start of a relationship as they follow a cycle that starts with the
honeymoon phase and tension increases over time.
Violence Cycle
Abuse is not a one-time thing; it is a series of events that create an interminable cycle
unless its deliberately stopped. Depending on the source researched the violence cycle ranges
from three to four stages. According to a resource provided by the Office of the Kansas Attorney
General, (n.d.) the violence cycle can be broken up into three stages. The first stage is tension
building. This stage can be described as walking on eggshells. Minor incidents exist and the
victim may begin to feel fearful. The second stage is the abusive incident. The abuser may
believe that they lose control of their emotions and actions, and the incident is blamed on the
victim. The victim may feel helpless and traumatized. The last state is the honeymoon period or
the reconciliation stage. In this stage the abuser will apologize and try to make up for the incident
which may include promising that it will never happen again. The victim may consider

reconciliation and have mixed feelings about the situation. They cycle can be repeated many
times before the victim decides to leave which in most cases is a difficult decision to make.
Domestic Violence in Latinos
According to the National Latino Network, (n.d.) 1 in 3 Latinas have experienced
intimate partner violence. Rivera (1994) relates the following experience of a Latina victim:
The first time I went to the hospital [he] had broken my nose and cut my head open. He
hit me on the head with a wooden clothes hanger and I got seventeen stitches over my ear. I cant
hear well on that side since that happenedOne time the neighbors called the police. They heard
screaming and yelling. He had been hitting me and throwing things around the house. A police
officer came to the door and asked if everything was all right. You know, [he] stood right behind
me and I had to say that everything was fine. I was afraid [he] would do something if I didnt.
This description demonstrates the plight and condition when someone is faced with
domestic violence. In a study done by the Statistical Handbook of Violence in America as cited
by Hispanics and Firearms Violence (2001) found, Hispanic women in intimate relationships
suffered the highest rate of domestic violence being 181 per 1,000 couples compared to 117 per
1,000 couples in white women and black women being 166 per 1,000 couples. Evidently,
domestic violence is a critical issue in Latino relationships. Interestingly, Latinas under use
social services available for domestic violence when compared to the prevalence that exists.
Some of the reasons why is because Latinas face even more challenges due to unique economic,
social and cultural elements. These factors act as barriers for them to be able to seek the help that
they could obtain.
Economic Factors. According to Rivera (1994), In 1990, 25% of Latino families fell below the
poverty line, as compared to 9.5% of non-Latino familiesAs of 1990, one in every six persons

living in poverty was Latino. Along with that, economic status can also be an indicator of
educational attainment. Education is one of the principal ways that domestic violence victims can
find help and overcome their situation. Education provides a connection to resources and means
of help for domestic violence. Someone with lower socio-economic status is less likely to be able
to seek help on their own limited by their own inexperience and circumstances.
Social Factors. Research done by the Migration Policy Institute showed that of the 54 million
people in 2013 who identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino, 35 percent or 19 million were
immigrants (Zong, 2015). Immigration status is a central factor for many Latinos, specially
victims of domestic violence. Latinas report that immigration status plays a big role in their
decision to report domestic violence. Many victims fear deportation stopping them from
reporting the violence. Also, victims report that immigration status is used as a form of control
by their abuser to force them into staying in their current situation. Similarly, many Latinos learn
English as a second language and are not fluent in speaking or fully comprehending the
language. This can be a major barrier when trying to obtain social services. Latinos may want to
obtain help but dont, simply because they dont understand how to and information may not be
accessible in their native language.
Cultural Factors. Traditionally, Latino men and Latino women are stereotyped for following
very strict gender roles. The man is expected to follow the characteristics of a Macho. The
cultural patterns of machismo follow a strong, masculine, superior and bold male. The woman is
seen as submissive and domestic expected to accept a male-centered family structure. Latinas are
denied the opportunity to be individualistic and are expected to sacrifice themselves above their
families. Religion plays a big role to why that image has been maintained in the culture.
Catholicism sustains that a woman must be religious, and traditional. As a result, Latinas are

bound to their expected gender-roles, forced to live within the hands of a patriarch. Considering
this cultural position, Latinas are placed in a very difficult dilemma having to choose between
themselves and their cultural norms when it comes to reporting domestic violence.
Intervention
In light of the unique barriers that Latinas must overcome when they are involved in
domestic violence a unique intervention must be put in place to address this issue. According to
the National Latino Network, Of the Latinas who experience abuse, about half of them never
report them to the authorities. Instead, Latinas seem to seek out informal forms of help through
their family and friends. This could be caused by a variety of reasons ranging from lack of trust
in the authorities, shame, and fear of other consequences. An understanding of the full spectrum
of Latino life is critical to develop a system in which they can use all of the services available to
them. Therefore, social services should be focused on addressing their specific economic, social
and cultural needs.
The intervention I have developed involves two parts prevention and information of
domestic violence in the Hispanic community. As I have researched this topic, I believe more
effort should be put into preventing abusive relationships. Prevention is such an important part of
avoiding a problem. If something can be prevented, then it can eliminate the complications that
come when the problem already exists. Another factor to consider is that prevention must start at
an appropriate age in order to be effective and make a difference. I believe that the more time
spent being exposed to information repeatedly the greater the chances are to make a change.
The most successful way to reach young audiences is through the education system. The
education system provides a safe and appropriate learning environment for young minds. The
strategy for prevention would be creating a domestic violence awareness course or given every

year from sixth grade to high school. The class would be implemented as part of a health
education class and would be given in two consecutive days for about two hours. The class
would be given by volunteers working for existing domestic violence agencies. According to
Wolfe (1999), when dealing with violence awareness in a group of children age six to twelve,
prevention should be focused on teaching violence awareness and alternative conflict-resolution
skills. With adolescents ages thirteen through eighteen an emphasis should be put on dating
violence and forming healthy intimate relationships. With this sort of approach children would be
exposed to delicate information in a form that is appropriate for their age group.
The cost for this part of the program would range between $5000 to $6000 dollars. The
money would be invested in the materials that would be used for the program. The course would
teach these topics with different activities, videos, and handouts. The estimated costs would
cover the making of handouts and books designed for the specific age groups. In addition to that,
in order to make this program successful there would need to be a program director. The program
director could be assigned by an existing agency to someone who they feel is the most
appropriate for the job and passionate about making it successful. The director would be in
charge of finding donations and grants to fund further expenses for the program.
The second part of my intervention focuses on providing domestic violence information.
This involves creating a safer, more comfortable and accessible way for Latinas to obtain
information. In other words, this would happen by making information so readily available that
victims would know exactly where to go when they need help. The strategy that would
accomplish this goal is to provide information in places familiar to Latinos for example,
churches, schools, and marketplaces. Information would be provided in the form of flyers and
handouts delivered to the previous listed places. Flyers would include information such as

domestic hotline phone numbers, domestic violence shelter information, and local police phone
numbers. Flyers can be designed and printed by any company online for less than five cents
each. The expected cost for this program would range from $500 to $1000 dollars. The funds
would come from donations and grants as well. Additionally, this would provide information in
the places where women would most likely be found. This would make it possible for women to
find help without having to leave their comfort zone to find it. Another important part of the
strategy is involving the Hispanic media. Media is an incredible tool to reach a mass amount of
people in a short time. The plan would be to partner a domestic violence agency and a Hispanic
television channel such as Univision or Telemundo, to air a commercial about domestic violence
awareness. Expectantly, if Latinas are able to have social service information at hand they will be
more likely to use it. After they have taken the first step and have become involved with the
social service system then it will become the agencies responsibility to link the victim to any
other resources they may be in need of.
In an interview with Perla Ivonne Rivera who is the director of South
Valley Services, a domestic violence shelter, she expressed her concern about the Hispanic
population and domestic violence. She believes that the Hispanic community seems to be at a
disadvantage for obtaining help because of the many barriers they must overcome to obtain help.
She specified various obstacles such as language, fear and most of all lack of support or
connections. She also mentioned something that I had not taken into account. She proposed that
she would like see a different approach used to deal with Latinas and their abusers. She shared
different experiences she has seen throughout the years of working with South Valley Services,
in which a lot of Latinas have returned to their abuser for various reasons. She said that she
believes a better intervention strategy for cases like those would be having a program in which

both the victim and the abuser could work together to minimize the risks of domestic violence.
This was very interesting to me as it had never occurred to me that that is also an issue that must
be addressed. In general, there is a lack of help out there for abusers and another area of
opportunity could start there.
Overall, the program has potential to becoming very successful. It is going to target a part
of the population before domestic violence occurs in hope of empowering children and
adolescents to recognize and build healthy relationships. Also itll provide information to Latinas
in a more effective way. On the other hand, there are assumptions in society about domestic
violence that could hinder this programs success. Some of the beliefs include, Domestic
violence is a personal problem between husband and wife, The abuse must not be that bad or
they would leave. Assumptions like these are found everywhere due to the lack of correct
information portrayed by the media. Since these myths are out there, people are influenced to
believe them and accept them as truth limiting the potential there is to help. This group of people
can include anyone who is not exposed to accurate and precise information on domestic violence
and that may not believe that it is a real problem. Irrespective of the misinformation that already
exists on domestic violence, the program should be accepted to correct those myths and not
contribute to the ignorance in society. Domestic violence does not only affect Hispanics, it is an
issue prevalent across cultures, genders, and races. It must be addressed as a universal problem
and only then real change can come about.

References
Domestic Violence Resources: The Cycle of Violence. (n.d.). Retrieved December 16, 2015,
from http://www.hruth.org/files/library/CycleofViolence.pdf
Hispanics and Firearms Violence. (2001). Retrieved December 16, 2015, from
http://www.vpc.org/studies/hispone.htm
Jenny Rivera, Domestic Violence Against Latinas by Latino Males: An Analysis of Race,
National Origin, and Gender Differentials, 14 B.C. Third World L.J. 231 (1994),
http://lawdigitalcommons.bc.edu/ twlj/vol14/iss2/2
National Latina Network. (n.d.). Retrieved December 16, 2015, from
http://www.nationallatinonetwork.org/learn-more/facts-and-statistics
What is Domestic Violence? (2015). Retrieved December 16, 2015, from
http://www.ncadv.org/need-help/what-is-domestic-violence
Wolfe, D., & Jaffe, P. (1999). Emerging Strategies in the Prevention of Domestic Violence. The
Future of Children.
Zong, J., & Batalova, J. (2015, February 25). Frequently Requested Statistics on Immigrants and
Immigration in the United States. Retrieved December 16, 2015, from
http://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/frequently-requested-statistics-immigrants-andimmigration-united-states