By Kathyrn Carlson; Bright Horizons Shelter Advocate
Racial minority women who are involved in domestic violence situations often do not see the benefits of reporting crimes to police based on several different circumstances. One study in Canada provided additional insight as to how criminal justice responses need to be addressed for women of minority races when it pertains to reporting domestic violence crimes. Questions that are addressed pertain to: circumstances as to why women contact police and addressing the needs to criminal justice responses (Tam, Tutty, Zhuang, & Paz, 2016).
The overall process to holding individuals accountable for their actions in a domestic violence situation is to address the unlawful behaviors that they partake in against women. When looking at how the criminal justice process works areas that involve domestic assault cases also involve the victim as the witness and often this leads to the fact that the women are often involved with the abuser and can lead to the victim not wanting to testify. In order to assist in the safety of not only the victim but also children when involved, there are specific domestic violence processes that are set forth to assist the police, attorneys and judges to better understand domestic violence cases (Tam, Tutty, Zhuang, & Paz, 2016).
The research questioned that is addressed in this article pertains to the socially constructed and cultural inequality for women in crimes of domestic violence against women of different races. Also questioned is to look at how willing a racial minority woman will look at her own domestic violence case and be willing to report it to local police without fear of repercussions (Tam, Tutty, Zhuang, & Paz, 2016).
The gaps within the literature that are identified include how cultural beliefs, fear, integration obstacles affect how women in a racial minority group is willing to report charges of domestic violence. Cultural beliefs will greatly affect whether a woman is willing to report a violent act of abuse. Women are often pressured to believe by family members as well as community members that what happens within the confines of their home needs to stay there and kept private. By reporting the crime to police, it will place shame not only on themselves but also the family. In addition to this cultural belief, women who have immigrated to either Canada (and/or the United States) often fear that police are corrupt and cannot be trusted based on prior experiences within their country.
By taking the cultural beliefs of marriage and that crimes such as abused should not be reported, this leads to the fear of how involving police will not only damage the families’ presence in the community but will also affect how family and friends see their life. By keeping the best interests of the family mind, many minority women fear that if they report crimes such as domestic violence they will then have to worry about their children and how it affects their future. Many women who are in a minority group also fear that if they report a domestic violence case and they have immigrated to another country, their immigration status will be rescinded, and they will be deported. When it comes to a case where a woman does report the violence to police, the partner will not be charged, however women will many times call police to get the abuse to stop and have the abuser removed from the home, if for at least one night of no violence (Tam, Tutty, Zhuang, & Paz, 2016).
Integration obstacles that take place within a community also pertain to how a racial minority woman fits into society not only socially but economically. Many immigrant women must rely on their spouse for support, as often the woman is not allowed to work outside of the home. If a woman does report a case of domestic violence to police, that woman will then fear that her support financially from her spouse is going to end (Tam, Tutty, Zhuang, & Paz, 2016). In addition to the barrier of financial support, women are often told that they do not need to learn another language as they will not need to leave the home, this in turn makes it difficult to report abuse to police, especially when the woman does not understand the language that is being spoken.
Another area connected through cultural beliefs, fear and integrating in a community are the barriers of discrimination. Minority women feel that police discriminate against individuals of another race (other than Caucasian) when it comes to reporting domestic violence cases. This will lead the women in the minority group to not report the abuser because they fear that their abuser will then be discriminated against.
The article shares that the “literature reviewed has revealed that the factors that hinder the utilization of the criminal justice system and community services among racial minority women involve cultural beliefs, fear, integration obstacles and systemic barriers (Tam, Tutty, Zhuang, & Paz, 2016).”
The sample of women take were from 175 women, of the 175 women 14 identified themselves as racial minority women (Tam, Tutty, Zhuang, & Paz, 2016). The method used to field the study were to interview the women at a place of convenience and were done within the native language of the women. Each interview lasted approximately one to two hours, were recorded for audio and translated if using the native language. (Tam, Tutty, Zhuang, & Paz, 2016). The process in which was used was the qualitative research process. This process looked for in response to questions: what occurred when the woman sought outside help, how do structure and context support, impede, change or maintain the actions of seeking help and the impression of the criminal justice system. The goal of the data was to represent the viewpoint of abused women, respect the criminal justice responses, and also understand if the woman’s needs were served by the criminal justice system when specializing in domestic violence situations (Tam, Tutty, Zhuang, & Paz, 2016).
There were specific factors that were found within the study based on deterrence factors and facilitating factors. Children’s safety and positive experiences were the facilitating factors within the study, and positive experiences with the criminal justice system. Deterrence factors included pre-contact consideration, in system negative experiences, and ineffectiveness of post-conviction criminal justice interventions (Tam, Tutty, Zhuang, & Paz, 2016). The overall findings of the stud indicate that many of the women within the study found that some criminal justice staff were caring, supporting, and understanding of their situation. Also, one of the largest factors within the study pertained to the areas in which the women lived. Larger communities tended to need to focus on reviewing policies and procedures within their agency based on meeting the needs of the minority women. Smaller communities found that the criminal justice staff had a better support system for the women (Tam, Tutty, Zhuang, & Paz, 2016).
The response to the study indicated that changes to the criminal justice response system in Canada should be enacted to protect racial minority women by: holding the offenders accountable for their actions, providing early intervention programs for low risk offenders, sternly prosecute serious or repeat offenders, and providing rehabilitation and treatment to the offenders (Tam, Tutty, Zhuang, & Paz, 2016)
I feel that the methods used in this study touched on information that is pertinent in what is happening in society. Women should not feel ashamed to report information to police when it comes to being abused. But men should also feel as safe in this situation. While the article touches only on racial minority women, men are just as easily abused in domestic violence situations, just not as heard about.
When looking at all situations, it is seen that many of the concerns racial minority women have are concerns that affect their every day life. The fear of being heard should not be one of those fears. I do feel that the criminal justice system touches on information with different agencies, however there can be times within the criminal justice system where individuals go to “old school” way of thinking. By this I mean that, what happens in the home should stay in the home, women should listen to their spouse, women should not tell people outside of their home what is going on and bring them into a situation that should only be handled at home.
I feel that the study is valid and that the findings along with the methods for continuing within different agencies as valid as well. I do feel that further contact with the women in the study would be beneficial to see what actions have been taken since reporting their crime and if the women feel that their needs are being met.
References
Tam, D. M., Tutty, L. M., Zhuang, Z. H., & Paz, E. (2016). Racial Minority Women and Criminal Justice Responses to Domestic Violence. Journal of Family Violence, 527-538.