Domestic Violence in Latino Community

For our group presentation, we chose Domestic violence and sexual assault in undocumented and documented Latina population in the U.S. We decided to analyze the reasons, different types of visa options and laws that help the victims of this violence. We talked about barriers and homicides that were currently going on in Ciudad Juarez as we learned with more details by the help of class materials. We talked about VAWA and how these laws protect victims of abuse who are undocumented. Abusive people such as partners, husbands were threatening the Latinas with deportations if they were trying to escape from them or planning to go police to seek some professional help to alter their violent environment. I shared some important notions in Latino culture that reproduce domestic violence.

In addition to this useful information that gives us wide perspective to understand the domestic violence issue, we shared some useful information about the impact of Economic Inequality and domestic violence. Females continue to earn less than men. It is a significant factor that maintains the cycle of domestic violence. I emphasized that not only earning less money than man, but also Latinas have some troubles to gain power and freedom that normally must be equal to their responsibilities and working effort. Moreover, the legal systems discriminate against victims and fail to protect women who seek protection and support. By the support of some laws and social movements, there are some improvements, but unfortunately they are not significant. So far, we learned that VAWA created special provisions in the United States immigration law to protect victims of abuse who are not citizens of the United States. Under the VAWA support, domestic violence victims can receive self-protection from the police without any fear of deportation and battered spouse or child waiver. If we share these kinds of information with our classmates and loved ones, we can improve people’s awareness about their options and rights so their partners cannot threaten them with unrealistic situations to abuse them more. In the class, we learned that knowledge is power, so if we increase ours and societies knowledge capacity, we can alter our today and future and decrease the violence in our lives.

In the Latino culture such as Marianismo as an aspect of the female gender role in the machismo of Latin American folk culture passivize the females to fight back against abuser family partner and silence them. It is the veneration for feminine virtues like purity and moral strength.” Moreover, Machismo as an assertive masculinity which is often characterized by aggressiveness and dominance over women, quality of being macho, exaggerated masculinity can be a trigger to make males more violent against women as a part of cultural ritual and to prove Latino’s manhood. In addition, Familismo; as a form of social structure in which the needs of the family as a group are more important than the needs of any individual family member make women nearly always postpone their desire and problems, but work for the good of their families. This makes all masculine bigotry more powerful in the society and silenced the female victims. Not only these kinds of cultural codes and norms, but also society’s social inequalities are very effective about the Latino’s violence against Latina women. When Latina men fell powerless in their social world because of systematic structural violence against them, they became more violent to their families especially to Latina women. As we can see the problem is very complicated and we cannot only blame the individual violent Latinos, because while they are practicing some violence at home, they are also victims of the cruel, unequal society.

During this semester we also learned that a theory of multiple worlds was explaining us about conflict in between two worlds and culture. This situation also can be trigger for some people to practice violence or victim of these double worlds’ pressure and stress by other oppressed Latinos in the society. Moreover, we learned that after the de-industrialization Braceros switched to the Braceras and this social change effect on both sides of Latino community. This economic and structural change can make Macho males more aggressive against females. When Latinos feel less powerful by losing their positions in arm-labor world, they became more violent against women. I believe that structural violence feed the individual violence, especially domestic violence. In addition to this, individual violence and violent mentality, language are also feeding and making possible the structural violence. If we want to alter all these violent existence, we need to worn on both of them. None of them is more important than the other.

In this semester we also learned that culture and the family also defines the acceptable gender roles and limitations based on the gender differences. In the bicultural reality, family is important to not get lost and find the balance, but it can turn out to a type of oppression. Latinas are giving money to survival of the entire family system, but rarely given the corresponding increase in power or self-determination. This must be change! In my opinion Familismo is good, but, the dose makes the poison a medicine.

As we learned from this presentations and during all the semester micro level violence is feeding the macro level violence. In addition to this, macro violence and violent language, structural changes in worker’s world are also helping us to reproduce violence and violent languages in the society. Both sides make the other side more possible. However, by the help of knowledge and other social helps like we shared in this presentation, we are as witnesses or today’s actual victims can be a part of the future’s inner and social revolution and hopefully create better conditions for new generation Latinas.

Meryem R. Tasbilek