Immigrant Women Fight Domestic Violence
October 23, 2007
The specter of domestic violence plagues families of all races, but Asian American immigrant women are likely to bear its brunt in silence. Cultural and linguistic differences, isolation from support systems and unfamiliarity with the American legal system are just a few of the barriers that hinder these women from escaping their abusive relationships, according to the San Mateo County domestic violence group Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse.
“They are faced with overwhelming financial, social and emotional concerns, and feel alone in their situation,” said Melissa Lukin, the group’s executive director, during an Oct. 10 outreach program in South San Francisco that commemorated October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
Immigrant Filipino women who experience domestic violence are examples of this scenario, said members of the group’s Filipino American Outreach Team, which provides services to survivors who are Filipino.
“There is a stigma associated with domestic violence that these women have to contend with,” explained Jet Africa, manager of the San Mateo Mental Health Division and CORA member. “Fear, shame and guilt, along with religious and societal concerns, have made it difficult for them to talk openly about domestic abuse.”
This is why the community must take an active part in preventing domestic violence, reaching out to victims and learning about available community resources, Africa said.
By doing so, she said, “people who have developed empathy for the survivors know exactly where to get help and can intervene effectively and without judgment.”
The nonprofit is the only Bay Area core service agency for survivors of domestic abuse specifically geared to Filipino Americans. Last year the group responded to 250 Filipino domestic violence victims through its services and programs. Marivic Mabanag, executive director of the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence and a domestic violence survivor, said that last year there were 134 spousal murder cases, 110 involving women, in California.
“To prevent these numbers from escalating, we, both men and women in the community, have to step up and rally behind survivors and advocates who are pushing for meaningful legislation, such as victim-counselor confidentiality, stricter penalties and stronger law enforcement help,” Mabanag said.
“In this way, we can have the power of one but the strength of many in the fight against domestic violence.”
At the event, Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse also honored four groups for their work against domestic violence: the Archdiocese of San Francisco, the Filipino Mental Health Initiative, the Manila Bulletin and the AsianWeek Foundation.
“Asian American communities have long suffered in silence because we’ve been unable to publicly discuss domestic violence,” said Assemblywoman Fiona Ma, who spoke at the event. “The important work CORA is doing in the Filipino American community will help break the cycle of violence. Domestic violence is no longer a private, family matter, but one that spills out into the community and affects many facets of society.”
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With language and cultural barrier, Women facing domestic violence has a tough hill to climb. Check out similar group trying to help out in Boston, MA.
http://www.atask.org/