1.
… I wanted to protect myself and the children, but I didn’t know what to do
. I wanted to call the police, but I didn’t think they would believe what had happened. Eventually, I got so desperate that I picked up the telephone receiver anyway. But when the voice on the other end talked to me in English, I didn’t know what to say.
I started speaking Spanish, but the operator couldn’t understand me . I turned to my children, because they had picked up some English, but they were too afraid to say anything. I was frightened and embarrassed. I felt completely alone.
As I was trying to figure out what to do, I heard Roberto walking up the porch steps to the front door. I put the telephone down and grabbed the children. We ran to the bedroom, and locked the door. I could hear Roberto walking into the kitchen and cursing. I hid the children in the bedroom closet and prayed that Roberto wouldn’t find us. But he did….
* A composite of abused immigrant women’s testimonies from the Tennessee Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence

2.
• “Hispanic” is:
– “a label of convenience utilized to refer to those individuals who reside in the
United States and who were born in or trace the background of their families to one of the Spanish-speaking Latin-American nations or Spain
.”
– (Marín & Marín, 1991, p. 1)
Hispanics in the United States by Race and Ethnicity (March 2002)
3%
3%
4%
9%
18%
63%
Mexican
Puerto Rican
Cuban
Salvadoran
Dominican
All Other Hispanics
Countries With Significant Hispanic Populations
Note: For countries in dark blue, Spanish language and culture developed through colonization by imperial Spain. Areas in light blue have experienced recent migrations of Hispanics from former Spanish colonies.
Source: United States Census Bureau News, “Facts for Features: Hispanic
Heritage Month, 2007,” Released July 15, 2007.

The Violence Against Women and Department of Justice Reauthorization
Act of 2005 (VAWA 2005):
– “domestic violence” includes felony or misdemeanor crimes of violence committed by:
• a current or former spouse of the victim
• a person with whom the victim shares a child in common
• a person who is cohabitating with or has cohabitated with the victim as a spouse
• a person similarly situated to a spouse of the victim under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction receiving grant monies
• any other adult person against a victim who is protected from that person's acts under the domestic or family violence laws of the jurisdiction”

The Problem:
Domestic violence committed by undocumented Hispanic male immigrants against their undocumented Hispanic female immigrant partners
The Perpetrators:
• Abuse and acculturation are directly related: 12.8% of Mexican-born Mexican
Americans vs. 30.9% of U.S.-born Mexican Americans perpetrate physical abuse.
– By comparison, 21.6% of Whites perpetrate physical abuse
(Sorrenson & Telles, 1991).
The Victims:
• Up to 49.3% of undocumented Hispanic immigrants may be physically abused by their spouses
(Hass, Dutton, & Orloff, 2000).
• Hispanics stay in abusive relationships longer than other racial / ethnic groups
–
(Torres, 1991; Torres 1987).
•
Hispanics are more likely than Whites to return to abusive relationships
(Torres, 1987)
– 52% of Immigrant Latinas are still with their batterers
(CIRRS, 1990)

•
Humanitarian Concerns
• Congressional Mandate
•
Growing Problem
–
As Hispanics become a larger portion of the American Population, the problems faced by the Hispanic community have an increasingly detrimental effect on the overall health and productivity of the American population
Projected United States Population by Race and Ethnicity (2000 - 2050)
Hispanic (all races)
White*
102,560,000
35,622,000
210,283,000
195,729,000
Black*
Asian*
Other Races **
61,361,000
35,818,000
33,430,000
10,684,000
22,437,000
7,075,000
0
2050
2000
419,584,000
* Represents people of one-race who are not Hispanic.
** Includes American Indian and
Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiian and
Other Pacific Islanders, and people of
Two or More Races
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2004, "U.S.
Interim Projections by Age, Sex, Race, and
Hispanic Origin.”

•
Providing a comprehensive, ecological view (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) of domestic violence among heterosexual couples of undocumented Hispanic immigrants living in the United States
•
Using the ecological framework to propose solutions instead of merely describing phenomena as do Perilla (1998) and Malley-Morrison & Hines (2004).
•
Sharing information from a qualitative survey distributed to 72 Nashville organizations

•
Immigrant Legal Clinic (Tennessee Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual
Violence)
• Translating Victims’ Testimonies
•
Interviewing Advocates
•
Filing U Visas

8.
Ecological Theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) explains how interactions within specific environments (The Macrosystem, Exosystem, Mesosystem, and Microsystem ) dictate human behavior.
Macrosystem -- Society, Economy, Politics, Language, Culture, and Law
Exosystem -- The Larger Community
Mesosystem --
An Individual’s Immediate Neighborhood
Microsystem --
Behavioral Genetics and an Individual’s Immediate
Environment (e.g. the home)
Source: Derived from Bronfenbrenner’s 1979 theory of Ecological Development

Factors Which Aggravate Domestic
Violence:
Hispanic Cultural Scripts (e.g. Machismo ), Acculturative Stress,
Undocumented Status, Language Barriers, Inadequate Legal
Remedies (U Visas, Orders of Protection, etc.), Discrimination, and
Limited State and Federal Domestic Violence Services.
Neighborhood Social Disorganization and Crime, Poverty and
Unemployment, Women’s Employment, Community Acceptance of
Violence, and Inadequate Local Domestic Violence Resources.
Genetic Predisposition to Violence, Age, Alcoholism and Drug
Abuse, Dependency Relations Between Partners (Economic,
Linguistic, Emotional, etc.), Learned Helplessness, Posttraumatic
Stress, and Social Learning of Violence.

Risk Factors (for Domestic Violence)
Language Barriers
(
 lack of knowledge about legal rights and resources)
Hispanic Cultural Scripts which Condone Violence
(E.g. Marianismo, Machismo, Familismo, Respeto, & Catholicism)
Dependency Relations
(e.g. a woman may be dependent on her abuser for financial support and language interpretation)
Social Learning of Domestic Violence
(children who witness domestic violence may become abusers and victims as adults)
Inadequate Legal Remedies
E.g. U Visas, orders of protection, imprisonment of abusers, mandatory arrest policies…
Diminishing the Risk Factors
English Language Instruction in Hispanic Communities;
Bilingual Staff & Publications for Social Service Organizations
Reinterpret Cultural Scripts by Emphasizing Positive Hispanic
Cultural Values (e.g. family unity, respect, mutuality, and humility)
Create Women’s Work / Support Groups and Community-Based
Education Services so that women can survive without their abusers and can become equal contributors in their relationships
Counseling for children whose parents are in abusive relationships
Expand women’s choice of remedies
Provide prevention services for domestic violence services (instead of only responding to abuse which has already happened) for both men and women
Current remedies give abused women few options – if women want legal protection, they must leave and help deport their abusers (though this might not be in the woman’s economic and cultural interest)
Introduce culturally-appropriate mediation / counseling services and Restorative Justice approaches
Legal remedies emphasize punishment instead finding / responding to the factors behind the abuse
Reconcile competing immigration and domestic violence laws (e.g.
INA Section 287g and VAWA)

Q: How would you characterize the relationship between prosecutors, judges, police, and the Hispanic/Latino community they serve?
*
A:
“There is little relationship. They [Hispanic immigrants] are afraid of the police and fear deportation (if applicable). The language barrier causes misunderstandings.”
--Dr. Carol H. Gibson (Crisis Counseling Supervisor; Metro Nashville Police Department)
A:
“Either very good or very bad – no middle ground. Some are wonderful in understanding the Latino–specific issues. Others are blatantly racist and disrespectful.”
--Legal Services Provider
* Question #3 of the Legal and Advocacy Groups Survey Supplement - included in the Appendix.
Source: Erb (2008). The Appendix outlines the methods used to obtain data for the qualitative survey created for this research paper.

• Faculty Sponsors
– Dr. Roger Conner (Vanderbilt Law School)
– Dr. Cynthia Wasick (Vanderbilt Dept. of Spanish and Portuguese)
• Financial Support
– Dr. Craig Smith & the VUSRP Committee
• Service Learning Partners
– Atty. Robin Kimbrough (Tennessee Coalition Against Domestic and
Sexual Violence
– Dr. Mark Dalhouse and Martha Dale (Vanderbilt Office of Active
Citizenship and Service
– Elizabeth Reed (YW Shelter)
• Survey Participants