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Barriers for Survivors of Color
WHO ARE WOMEN OF COLOR?
According to the Women of Color Network, the term women of color includes; African-American, African, Asian, Caribbean, Chicano, Latino, Native American, South Asian and all of the diverse groups within these populations.
WHY ARE THEIR NEEDS DIFFERENT?
The needs of women of color are different because the culture, language and religion may differ from mainstream society. This group includes both historically disadvantaged groups within the United States as well as migrants, immigrants and refugees. Each subgroup poses its own unique experiences of violence and attitudes toward addressing the violence. Often times these unique experiences and attitudes are not reflected in the way domestic violence services are developed and offered to the community. For this reason and many more, women of color share a common barrier to accessing culturally respectful services.
The following is a list of various barriers to women of color accessing shelter:
- Lack of trust in "white" establishments
- Lack of knowledge that domestic violence is a problem or a crime
- Unwillingness to seek help outside the family or community
- Language barriers
- Religious beliefs
- Family pressure to uphold the role of wife and mother
- Fear of losing their children
- Shame or inappriateness of sharing family matters
- Self-blame
- Fear of isolation from family, friends, community
- Lack of access to culturally appropriate foods
- Role of the Police
One of the most frequently proposed options for dealing with domestic violence is to involve the police through arrests, prosecution or protection from abuse orders. Many women of color have had tense and often violent relationships with the police and therefore do not trust the police.
The following are some reasons why a woman of color may not want to involve the police:
- Fear of deportation
- Racism
- Fear of being mistreated or violated
- Fear the police would cause undue harm to their batterer or community
- Inherent mistrust of the system
- Fear of being outcasted by the community
- Language barriers
- Racism in shelter and other systems
Although we would like to assume that our social service agencies recognize and actively combat racism within their systems, it is simply not the case. Therefore racism is another barrier women of color face when attempting to access services.
The needs of women of color may be
overlooked, marginalized, or ignored
by systems as true barriers to services.