The Disproportionate Impact of Domestic and Intimate Partner Violence on Black Women as an Intersection of Racism and Sexism
Brenda Suhan
Overview of the Problem
Domestic and intimate partner violence (DV/IPV) invades homes across the United States, often isolating victims and silencing them with shame and fear. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, DV/IPV is defined as “violence committed by a spouse, ex-spouse, or current or former boyfriend or girlfriend” (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2003). Among women 18 years of age and older, 5.3 million cases of IPV occur each year (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2003). Consequences of DV/IPV contribute to avoidable excess morbidity and mortality. Approximately 13.6 million days of work, both paid and unpaid, are lost due to IPV against U.S. women (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2003). DV/IPV is associated with a range of chronic diseases – such as asthma, gastrointestinal disorders, cardiovascular disease, and central nervous system disorders – due to physical violence and the resulting stress (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). Women who are victims of DV/IPV consume more health services and often require several medical visits for each occurrence (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2003).
In addition to suffering from more physical ailments, victims of DV/IPV have higher rates of depression, drug and alcohol abuse, and suicide attempts than the general population (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2003). While DV/IPV can occur in any household, violence tends to be more prevalent in lower socioeconomic groups. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, DV/IPV rates for black women are higher than for white women (Catalano, Smith, Snyder, & Rand, 2009). However, this is likely due to the fact that a greater proportion of black women live in disadvantaged neighborhoods, and so they face a greater risk (Gillum, 2009). Therefore, racism and the resulting poverty of racism – not race itself – contribute to the higher rates of DV/IPV and its effects. DV/IPV as a public health issue overlaps with social justice issues impacted by a multi-tiered framework of discrimination and is arguably an injustice rooted in much deeper social issues than simply the violence of a single perpetrator.
A Social Justice Framework for Analyzing Discrimination
Camara Phyllis Jones discusses the effects of discrimination on public health in her publication, “Levels of Racism: A Theoretic Framework and a Gardener’s Tale” (Jones, 2000). According to Jones, racism and discrimination can be examined on three levels: institutionalized, personally mediated, and internalized. Together, these levels create a framework with which health professionals can examine health disparities. Jones defines institutionalized racism as “differential access to the goods, services, and opportunities of society by race” (Jones, 2000). Institutionalized racism is discrimination at a societal level, either perpetuated by policies or simply by “inaction” (Jones, 2000). Personally mediated racism is associated with “prejudice and discrimination” (Jones, 2000). Prejudice is characterized by “differential assumptions about the abilities, motives, and intentions of others according to their race,” and discrimination is acting upon such assumptions (Jones, 2000). The third level, influenced by the first two, is internalized racism. This occurs when individuals in a population accept others’ doubts of “their own abilities and intrinsic worth” (Jones, 2000). The individual begins to believe society’s perception of them based upon the characteristics associated with their race (Jones, 2000). It should be noted that while Jones specifically addresses racism, other forms of discrimination can also be analyzed using this framework. The following analysis will address sexism, as well as racism, since both are important to the topic of DV/IPV.
Institutionalized Racism
Institutionalized racism helps to explain the complexity of the problem of DV/IPV among black women. Being black and being female are two intersecting identities that add to the burden of DV/IPV for this population. Racism and sexism dually target these victims and survivors. In the U.S., poverty is an issue of race perpetuated by lack of access to quality education. Since those with lower socioeconomic status have higher rates of DV/IPV, institutionalized racism plays a role in the impact of this issue on black women. Since American slavery, black men and women have been marginalized in the U.S. However, black women in particular were expected to fulfill traditional female roles of giving birth and raising a family as well as expected to do work alongside men in the fields (Martinson, 2001). Contrasted with white women, who only were expected to perform tasks traditionally assigned to women, black women became viewed as “bad,” “sinful,” and “immoral” (Martinson, 2001). In contrast to white women impacted by DV/IPV, black women typically are not viewed as “victims” (Martinson, 2001). They are either blamed or expected to fight back. These societal views have broken the trust of black women in our social systems, including the law enforcement, judicial, and medical systems. Racial inequities inherent to our societal structures act as barriers to solving DV/IPV issues in the black community, including victims’ abilities to seek assistance and leave abusive relationships. The reciprocity between the lack of publicity given to black women’s stories and the reluctance of black women to trust societal structures impedes help-seeking behavior. Even when victims do seek help, the existing systems available to them might not cater to the specific needs and concerns of black women, particularly those with low socioeconomic status (Martinson, 2001). Lack of health insurance, for example, impacts victims’ financial ability to obtain medical and mental health treatment due to injuries related to DV/IPV. In addition, more practical barriers discourage reporting and leaving an abuser. Being a woman puts an individual in a position of economic dependence on her partner, since women typically earn less than males and often have the added roles of caring for children. Women must have the economic means to survive without their abusers, and if children are a consideration, it could be even more difficult to leave (Martinson, 2001). Women are forced to choose between two undesirable outcomes: stay with the abuser and continue to endure physical and psychological wounds, or leave and face the daily uncertainty of physical and psychological security against a world that historically has failed to acknowledge a black woman as having worth.
Personally Mediated Racism
Jones’ second level of racism, personally mediated discrimination, impacts the intra-racial dynamics in abusive relationships and how black women view their abusers. DV/IPV at its core is an issue of jealousy, power, and control by the abuser, often magnified by issues of low income and unemployment (Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community, n.d.). In situations of DV/IPV, black women are pulled between loyalty to the black community, and to their identities as women.
By speaking out against black male partners, women risk further marginalizing black men and contributing to the societal stereotype that black men are violent (Martinson, 2001). The strained relationship between police officers and the black community adds to this fear. In particular, black women distrust the police and fear further violence against themselves or their abusers. This prevents women from calling the police to intervene when violence escalates. Other black women might even discourage a victim from reporting or leaving a partner. This tension between women’s interests and interests of the black community is in part responsible for unreported cases (Martinson, 2001).
Internalized Racism
The final level of racism is internalized, which is influenced by both institutional and personally mediated factors. Black women believe the negative messages from personally mediated and institutionalized levels (Jones, 2000). Internalized racism influences help seeking behavior among black female victims. For example, victims might internalize the stereotypes against black women of the “sexual temptress,” “ugly mammies,” “bridges that hold the family together,” and “emasculating matriarchs” (Gillum, 2009). The label “strong black woman” is familiar to these victims, and dangerously implies that a black woman should be capable of combating violence on her own (Martinson, 2001). These internalized messages perpetuate a cycle of hopelessness and fail to promote the motivation to seek help and leave an abusive partner. Stigma against mental illness also plays a role in these negative perceptions of seeking help, specifically for psychological distress related to the victimization. The rate of treatment for mental health challenges is only 7% among African American women who exhibit symptoms of mental illness (Ward & Heidrich, 2009). Black women tend to view depression not as a biological illness influenced by environmental factors, but as an individual weakness (Ward & Heidrich, 2009). The consequences of such perceptions are particularly detrimental to black women who are victims of DV/IPV because victimization can have severe and enduring consequences on mental health, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and even suicide. Black women indicate that spirituality and prayer are coping strategies for mental health challenges, yet U.S. society does not typically encourage this type of treatment (Ward & Heidrich, 2009).
Creating Change
Because of the intersection of racism and sexism, black women who are victims of DV/IPV face greater barriers to seeking assistance than other populations in the U.S. When addressing violence, systems must understand the unique challenges that black women face. Institutional, personally mediated, and internalized racism all hinder black women in ways that are unjust because they perpetuate DV/IPV in the black community specifically. Many actions can help in changing these issues. Publicizing issues of DV/IPV in the black community, partnering with trusted systems such as the church to offer assistance, increasing the rates of insured individuals in the black community, and educating law enforcement and medical practitioners on these issues are several steps that can promote change. Targeting the institutional level of discrimination would create the greatest lasting impact, since societal structures influence both personally mediated and internalized discrimination. Recognizing the complexity of DV/IPV among black women and taking action at the government and policy level can help improve the outcomes and decrease the prevalence of black women victimized by DV/IPV, creating a foundation for healthier homes across the U.S.
References
Catalano, S., Smith, E., Snyder, H., & Rand, M. (2009, October 23). Female victims of violence. Retrieved December 8, 2015, from http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=usjusticematls
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015, March 3). Intimate partner violence: Consequences. Retrieved December 8, 2015, from http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/intimatepartnerviolence/consequences.html
Gillum, T.L. (2009). The intersection of spirituality, religion and intimate partner violence in the African American community. Retrieved December 8, 2015, from http://www.idvaac.org/media/pubs/TheIntersectionofSpirituality.pdf
Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community. (n.d.). Fact sheet: Intimate partner violence (IPV) in the African American community. Retrieved December 8, 2015, from http://www.idvaac.org/media/publications/FactSheet.IDVAAC_AAPCFV-Community Insights.pdf
Jones, C.P. (2000). Levels of racism: A theoretic framework and a gardener's tale. American Journal of Public Health, 90(8), 1212-1215.
Martinson, L.M. (2001). The effect of racism on domestic violence resources. Retrieved December 8, 2015, from http://academic.udayton.edu/health/01status/violence05.htm
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. (2003). Costs of intimate partner violence against women in the United States. Retrieved December 8, 2015, from http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/ipvbook-a.pdf
Ward, E. C., & Heidrich, S. M. (2009). African American women’s beliefs about mental illness, stigma, and preferred coping behaviors. Research in Nursing & Health, 32(5), 480–492. http://doi.org/10.1002/nur.20344
Domestic and intimate partner violence (DV/IPV) invades homes across the United States, often isolating victims and silencing them with shame and fear. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, DV/IPV is defined as “violence committed by a spouse, ex-spouse, or current or former boyfriend or girlfriend” (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2003). Among women 18 years of age and older, 5.3 million cases of IPV occur each year (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2003). Consequences of DV/IPV contribute to avoidable excess morbidity and mortality. Approximately 13.6 million days of work, both paid and unpaid, are lost due to IPV against U.S. women (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2003). DV/IPV is associated with a range of chronic diseases – such as asthma, gastrointestinal disorders, cardiovascular disease, and central nervous system disorders – due to physical violence and the resulting stress (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). Women who are victims of DV/IPV consume more health services and often require several medical visits for each occurrence (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2003).
In addition to suffering from more physical ailments, victims of DV/IPV have higher rates of depression, drug and alcohol abuse, and suicide attempts than the general population (National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, 2003). While DV/IPV can occur in any household, violence tends to be more prevalent in lower socioeconomic groups. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, DV/IPV rates for black women are higher than for white women (Catalano, Smith, Snyder, & Rand, 2009). However, this is likely due to the fact that a greater proportion of black women live in disadvantaged neighborhoods, and so they face a greater risk (Gillum, 2009). Therefore, racism and the resulting poverty of racism – not race itself – contribute to the higher rates of DV/IPV and its effects. DV/IPV as a public health issue overlaps with social justice issues impacted by a multi-tiered framework of discrimination and is arguably an injustice rooted in much deeper social issues than simply the violence of a single perpetrator.
A Social Justice Framework for Analyzing Discrimination
Camara Phyllis Jones discusses the effects of discrimination on public health in her publication, “Levels of Racism: A Theoretic Framework and a Gardener’s Tale” (Jones, 2000). According to Jones, racism and discrimination can be examined on three levels: institutionalized, personally mediated, and internalized. Together, these levels create a framework with which health professionals can examine health disparities. Jones defines institutionalized racism as “differential access to the goods, services, and opportunities of society by race” (Jones, 2000). Institutionalized racism is discrimination at a societal level, either perpetuated by policies or simply by “inaction” (Jones, 2000). Personally mediated racism is associated with “prejudice and discrimination” (Jones, 2000). Prejudice is characterized by “differential assumptions about the abilities, motives, and intentions of others according to their race,” and discrimination is acting upon such assumptions (Jones, 2000). The third level, influenced by the first two, is internalized racism. This occurs when individuals in a population accept others’ doubts of “their own abilities and intrinsic worth” (Jones, 2000). The individual begins to believe society’s perception of them based upon the characteristics associated with their race (Jones, 2000). It should be noted that while Jones specifically addresses racism, other forms of discrimination can also be analyzed using this framework. The following analysis will address sexism, as well as racism, since both are important to the topic of DV/IPV.
Institutionalized Racism
Institutionalized racism helps to explain the complexity of the problem of DV/IPV among black women. Being black and being female are two intersecting identities that add to the burden of DV/IPV for this population. Racism and sexism dually target these victims and survivors. In the U.S., poverty is an issue of race perpetuated by lack of access to quality education. Since those with lower socioeconomic status have higher rates of DV/IPV, institutionalized racism plays a role in the impact of this issue on black women. Since American slavery, black men and women have been marginalized in the U.S. However, black women in particular were expected to fulfill traditional female roles of giving birth and raising a family as well as expected to do work alongside men in the fields (Martinson, 2001). Contrasted with white women, who only were expected to perform tasks traditionally assigned to women, black women became viewed as “bad,” “sinful,” and “immoral” (Martinson, 2001). In contrast to white women impacted by DV/IPV, black women typically are not viewed as “victims” (Martinson, 2001). They are either blamed or expected to fight back. These societal views have broken the trust of black women in our social systems, including the law enforcement, judicial, and medical systems. Racial inequities inherent to our societal structures act as barriers to solving DV/IPV issues in the black community, including victims’ abilities to seek assistance and leave abusive relationships. The reciprocity between the lack of publicity given to black women’s stories and the reluctance of black women to trust societal structures impedes help-seeking behavior. Even when victims do seek help, the existing systems available to them might not cater to the specific needs and concerns of black women, particularly those with low socioeconomic status (Martinson, 2001). Lack of health insurance, for example, impacts victims’ financial ability to obtain medical and mental health treatment due to injuries related to DV/IPV. In addition, more practical barriers discourage reporting and leaving an abuser. Being a woman puts an individual in a position of economic dependence on her partner, since women typically earn less than males and often have the added roles of caring for children. Women must have the economic means to survive without their abusers, and if children are a consideration, it could be even more difficult to leave (Martinson, 2001). Women are forced to choose between two undesirable outcomes: stay with the abuser and continue to endure physical and psychological wounds, or leave and face the daily uncertainty of physical and psychological security against a world that historically has failed to acknowledge a black woman as having worth.
Personally Mediated Racism
Jones’ second level of racism, personally mediated discrimination, impacts the intra-racial dynamics in abusive relationships and how black women view their abusers. DV/IPV at its core is an issue of jealousy, power, and control by the abuser, often magnified by issues of low income and unemployment (Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community, n.d.). In situations of DV/IPV, black women are pulled between loyalty to the black community, and to their identities as women.
By speaking out against black male partners, women risk further marginalizing black men and contributing to the societal stereotype that black men are violent (Martinson, 2001). The strained relationship between police officers and the black community adds to this fear. In particular, black women distrust the police and fear further violence against themselves or their abusers. This prevents women from calling the police to intervene when violence escalates. Other black women might even discourage a victim from reporting or leaving a partner. This tension between women’s interests and interests of the black community is in part responsible for unreported cases (Martinson, 2001).
Internalized Racism
The final level of racism is internalized, which is influenced by both institutional and personally mediated factors. Black women believe the negative messages from personally mediated and institutionalized levels (Jones, 2000). Internalized racism influences help seeking behavior among black female victims. For example, victims might internalize the stereotypes against black women of the “sexual temptress,” “ugly mammies,” “bridges that hold the family together,” and “emasculating matriarchs” (Gillum, 2009). The label “strong black woman” is familiar to these victims, and dangerously implies that a black woman should be capable of combating violence on her own (Martinson, 2001). These internalized messages perpetuate a cycle of hopelessness and fail to promote the motivation to seek help and leave an abusive partner. Stigma against mental illness also plays a role in these negative perceptions of seeking help, specifically for psychological distress related to the victimization. The rate of treatment for mental health challenges is only 7% among African American women who exhibit symptoms of mental illness (Ward & Heidrich, 2009). Black women tend to view depression not as a biological illness influenced by environmental factors, but as an individual weakness (Ward & Heidrich, 2009). The consequences of such perceptions are particularly detrimental to black women who are victims of DV/IPV because victimization can have severe and enduring consequences on mental health, including post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and even suicide. Black women indicate that spirituality and prayer are coping strategies for mental health challenges, yet U.S. society does not typically encourage this type of treatment (Ward & Heidrich, 2009).
Creating Change
Because of the intersection of racism and sexism, black women who are victims of DV/IPV face greater barriers to seeking assistance than other populations in the U.S. When addressing violence, systems must understand the unique challenges that black women face. Institutional, personally mediated, and internalized racism all hinder black women in ways that are unjust because they perpetuate DV/IPV in the black community specifically. Many actions can help in changing these issues. Publicizing issues of DV/IPV in the black community, partnering with trusted systems such as the church to offer assistance, increasing the rates of insured individuals in the black community, and educating law enforcement and medical practitioners on these issues are several steps that can promote change. Targeting the institutional level of discrimination would create the greatest lasting impact, since societal structures influence both personally mediated and internalized discrimination. Recognizing the complexity of DV/IPV among black women and taking action at the government and policy level can help improve the outcomes and decrease the prevalence of black women victimized by DV/IPV, creating a foundation for healthier homes across the U.S.
References
Catalano, S., Smith, E., Snyder, H., & Rand, M. (2009, October 23). Female victims of violence. Retrieved December 8, 2015, from http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&context=usjusticematls
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015, March 3). Intimate partner violence: Consequences. Retrieved December 8, 2015, from http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/intimatepartnerviolence/consequences.html
Gillum, T.L. (2009). The intersection of spirituality, religion and intimate partner violence in the African American community. Retrieved December 8, 2015, from http://www.idvaac.org/media/pubs/TheIntersectionofSpirituality.pdf
Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community. (n.d.). Fact sheet: Intimate partner violence (IPV) in the African American community. Retrieved December 8, 2015, from http://www.idvaac.org/media/publications/FactSheet.IDVAAC_AAPCFV-Community Insights.pdf
Jones, C.P. (2000). Levels of racism: A theoretic framework and a gardener's tale. American Journal of Public Health, 90(8), 1212-1215.
Martinson, L.M. (2001). The effect of racism on domestic violence resources. Retrieved December 8, 2015, from http://academic.udayton.edu/health/01status/violence05.htm
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. (2003). Costs of intimate partner violence against women in the United States. Retrieved December 8, 2015, from http://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/ipvbook-a.pdf
Ward, E. C., & Heidrich, S. M. (2009). African American women’s beliefs about mental illness, stigma, and preferred coping behaviors. Research in Nursing & Health, 32(5), 480–492. http://doi.org/10.1002/nur.20344