Abstract
Intimate partner violence is experienced by millions of women. The experience becomes complex when confronted in a different country, especially for Spanish-speaking Latina immigrants, representing a challenge in their path to survival. This ethnographic study was based in Chicana feminism and Mujerismo epistemology. From the Mujerista framework arises the concept of permítanme hablar and la lucha, which emphasizes the importance of the women’s narratives from their own contexts. Consequently, the need of reclaiming from their stories alternative forms of intervention by service providers and those who develop programs as well as social policies in favor of their communities.
Keywords
Millions of women around the world experience intimate partner violence (IPV). Although in some areas women are aware of services and legal provisions for them and their children, many experience victimization in silence, and often do not access the help that may be available (Glass et al., 2009). However, it is important to point out that this silence represents more than the mere act of not speaking, as it simultaneously involves resistance, as well as brave acts of survival and strength. The purpose of this article is to analyze the experiences of Latina survivors based on Chicana and Mujerista epistemology which is central to developing best practices with this population.
Historically, women of color have gone through similar experiences of oppression due to being both a woman and a person of color. Women who have studied this phenomenon have developed their own conceptualizations of what it means to be a woman of color (Hill-Collins, 2000). The main guiding question for this research was, “What is the experience of help seeking among battered immigrant Latinas in the Midwest of the United States?” Given that there is not much research on this topic, it was important to describe help seeking in depth among this understudied and underserved population of Latina immigrants. A set of subquestions addresses influences on immigrants’ help-seeking behaviors regarding Latina background, immigration status, Spanish speaking, and community integration into what is considered a new immigration gateway. Using key concepts from Chicana feminist and Mujerista theoretical perspectives of these women can help social workers better understand help seeking among Spanish-speaking immigrant Latinas and develop practices and policies to serve them. This critical ethnographic study was divided into two phases which were observing the community context and engaging in individual interviews. It was important to understand the community context of the stories of the participants, and this aspect of the study continued throughout the research project.
Chicana feminism is a reflection of the reality of Latina women living in the United States. The term “Chicana” has been used to refer primarily to Mexican American women (García, 1997). Black feminist and womanist epistemology has been central to the development of scholarship by Latinas (Delgado-Bernal, 1998). Some of the concepts used by Chicanas and Mujeristas were derived from these approaches because they are pertinent to the struggles of many women of color. Similar to black feminists, Chicanas realized that they do not necessarily fit the mainstream concept of womanhood and they have remained united with the Chicano movement in order to resist a system that oppresses them in multiple ways: as women, immigrants, and Spanish speakers (Blea, 1992; O’Neal & Beckman, 2016). Like other women of color, Chicanas battle against sexism and gender inequality, while at the same time fighting for civil rights (Chávez-García, 2013; Vidal, 1997). Comparable to Chicana feminism, Mujerismo, as explained by Isasi-Diaz (1996), is a theological and ideological perspective committed to the liberation of Latinas, and Latino/as as a community, whereas in mainstream feminism, the daily struggles of women and the communities they represent become political (Flores, 2014). It should be noted that Chicanas and Mujeristas share fundamental values. However, Mujeristas prefer to identify themselves as such because this term encompasses other Latina women such as Cubans, Puerto Ricans, and Central Americans (Machado, 1992).
When comparing sexism and racism, Grillo and Wildman (1997) address the notion of centrality of race. Chicana feminists have been aware that the impact of gender as well as race is central to their battles (Hurtado, 1998). Being a woman of color shapes their lives, particularly the way they define their realities. Among Latinas who survive IPV, their identities as Latinas are not separate from their experiences with IPV. A history of racism and discrimination shapes how they view help seeking and affects the way they disclose the situation or reach out for help from formal sources of support.
The way in which many Latinas survive multiple oppressions because of their race, gender, language, and immigrant status is centered on la lucha, 1 and collectively raising their voices to tell their stories by saying “allow me to speak” (permítanme hablar; Isasi-Diaz, 1996). Acknowledging the many differences present in the Latina community, la lucha can result in different struggles such as experiencing violence from an intimate partner, facing discrimination for being an undocumented immigrant, or not being able to communicate in English. An awareness of collectivism is essential in understanding and working with Latinas who survive IPV (Nygreen, Saba, & Moreno, 2016). Creating opportunities for speaking out and for telling their stories in their own terms, can encourage these women to be strong and to keep “working hard to move ahead” (luchando).
Chicanas as well as other feminists of color identify diverse experiences as pivotal in understanding issues that pertain to them. Although there has been progress in research with ethnic “minorities” in regard to help seeking in the context of IPV, there is a tendency in the literature to allocate disparate groups to one category. With Latinas particularly, this has become a common practice. The term Latino/a may include new immigrants, descendants of immigrants, citizens, residents, and undocumented persons, as well as both English and Spanish speakers (Gutiérrez, Yeakley, & Ortega, 2000). Not being cognizant of the diversity among the Latino/a population, as well as other groups, can be disadvantageous to research and practice.
Among Latina women in the United States, there is great diversity. Age, ideology, socioeconomic level, skin color, religion, geographic location, migration status, and occupation are some of the characteristics that must be kept in mind when thinking about diversity in Latinas. In spite of these differences, there is also the shared experience of oppression and inequality among Latinas. Chicana feminists refer to Gloria Anzaldúa’s concept of mestiza 2 consciousness to address this issue (Anzaldúa & Keating, 2003; Elenes, 2000; Hurtado, 2003; Martinez, 2002). This concept provides for the acknowledgment of multiple realities. In Anzaldúa’s book Borderlands/La Frontera The New Mestiza (1987), she examines what being mestizo/a represents, the historical context of struggle and oppression on the border of the United States and Mexico, and how many mestizas are torn between their half Mexican and half American identities. The emotional aspects of being an immigrant need to be taken into account when studying IPV among immigrant Latinas. In addition to surviving IPV, dealing with nostalgia for their home country, and adjusting to a new culture, the current debates over immigration and the massive deportations across the United States can have a tremendous effect on help seeking for undocumented Latinas survivors of IPV. For undocumented survivors of IPV, experiencing violence and seeking help is not that simple. In fact, Zadnik, Sabina, and Cuevas (2016), found that in a sample of 1,377 immigrant Latinas, undocumented survivors of interpersonal violence were less likely to seek formal help than those with permanent migration status. Migration status in conjunction with inrooted machista cultural values and lack of access to resources in the host community deter many from seeing help (Reina, Lohman, & Maldonado, 2014).
Chicana and Mujerista perspectives have addressed race and class but also have stressed issues of culture, and how members of society are not transhistorical or acontextual. The historical experience and implications of colonialism are also crucial to understanding the realities of Latinas, especially when focusing on mutuality and solidarity as a way to liberation. Their experience with colonialism in Mexico was again encountered when they came to the United States, in the form of racial and linguistic imperialism. Many Latinas in the United States are seen as the other, the object, the “minority.” Based on the awareness of the experiences of women related to their politically disadvantaged positions in society, Chicanas aim to organize with others to contribute to political action and social change (Leon, 2012). Borrowed from black feminist scholarship, Collins’ (1989) “multiple consciousness” and “oppositional consciousness” can be used to explain how women of color engage in defining who they are. Taking into account their experience of discrimination, they have challenged those who have tried to define who they are and their position in North American society (King, 1988). To Chicana feminists, liberation starts by speaking out about the realities of Latina women who have been silenced in empirical research for many years (Delgado Bernal, Burciaga, & Flores, 2012; Stritto, Loomis, & Allen, 2012; Yarbro-Bejarano, 1988). Mujeristas present theories about Latina realities as a way toward liberation. Liberation comes by Latinas telling their own stories. Although limited, there is literature that addresses another dimension to survival among Latina survivors of IPV. This has to do with strategies to survival among many stressors around survival in a foreign country, including strength and leadership among their communities (Serrata, Macias, Rosales, Rodriguez, & Perilla, 2015). Listening to the realities of these women provides for a deeper understanding of their multiple realities and multiple identities. Isasi-Diaz (1993) explains that solidarity and mutuality among Latina women is a step toward liberation. Bringing to light the factors that perpetuate disadvantage and oppression for Latinas as well as bringing light to strength and courage can lead toward action for change.
Method
The goal of this study was to conduct an in-depth examination into help seeking among Latinas who survived IPV using a critical ethnographic design. The main objectives of this research were to follow the stories of these women who lived in a rural community in Midwest of the United States, while taking into account the cultural, political, and economic context in which they lived.
The methodological design involved two stages. First, was the need for engaging in an ethnographic study by using unobtrusive, nonparticipant observation in order to increase knowledge of the community, especially events that key informants identified as important to community life. Prolonged engagement with Latino/a community members helped in developing a relationship based in mutuality and respect. Nurturing trust, particularly in a community that had being impacted by massive detention and deportation, allowed for the second stage to take place. The second stage included a series of formal interviews with Latinas who told their stories around IPV, life as a migrant, and help seeking. Carspecken’s Five-Stage Critical Qualitative Research Method (1996) guided the overall process, especially in linking the lives of participants and the social, economic, and political contexts in which they lived. This method is based on critical theories and provides for ethnographers a mechanism to engage in phases in order to reconstruct cultural structures and themes through research as well as to unveil how in everyday life, social interactions reproduce these cultural structures. Spradley’s Developmental Research Sequence (1980) was also used to guide the ethnographic interviews and the participant observation plan. This sequence involves systematic guide to establish how the ethnographic information is recorded, coded, and analyzed, especially for studies that involve multiple phases. The study was implemented after receiving approval from the university’s institutional review board.
The recruiting process was developed with the collaboration of key informants. Two key informants were identified during the prolonged engagement phase of this ethnographic study. They were well respected Latina women leaders in the community and participated in a community-based women’s group for Latinas. They served as liaisons with other women in the community and were valuable consultants and supporters of the project.
The sample for this study consisted of self-identified Spanish-speaking, first-generation immigrant Latinas, living in eastern Iowa who had experienced emotional, verbal, or sexual abuse from their intimate partners. To recruit the participants, key informants talked to potential participants and also introduced them to the researcher personally. After the women from the community met the researcher in different activities, a number of them either made a personal contact with the researcher, or asked key informants for the researcher’s information. Twenty-seven formal interviews, along with more than 20 observations and informal interviews were performed with nine participants. Following Carspecken’s method, the participants engaged in a series of in-depth interviews at different points of the research process in order to “generate dialogical data through interviews” (1996, p. 154). First interviews were conducted with all nine participants in this study. Nine follow-up interviews were also conducted to go in depth on certain topics covered in the first interview. In addition, nine final member checking interviews were conducted to present and confirm the interpretation of the data with each participant.
Participants have been identified with a pseudonym, and these pseudonyms shed light on the spirit of each of these women. Fe (Faith), Aurora (Dawn), Estrella (Star), Bella (Beautiful), Esperanza (Hope), Esmeralda (Emerald), Consuelo (Solace), Xochitl (Indigenous Aztec name for Flower), and Libertad (Liberty) graciously allowed us to hear their stories and learn from them. These women ranged from 21 to 50 years of age. At some point in their lives they had all been undocumented immigrants, although three of them entered the United States with a student or tourist visa. Four remain undocumented, two are temporary residents, one is a permanent resident, and two are naturalized citizens. The time they had lived in the United States ranged from 5 to 25 years. All of them came to Iowa directly after crossing the border.
Data Collection
For this ethnographic research different sources of data, such as observations, participatory witnessing, and in-depth interviews were used to enrich its rigor of the study and create redundancy (Schensul & LeCompte, 1999). Participant observation was reconceptualized into participatory witnessing, a term that has been used by critical researchers (Brant, 1994). Participatory witnessing involves searching for meaning collectively and inclusively. It transcends the positionality of the researcher in relationship to the “researched.” Sharing the power in telling and interpreting the story equalizes to some extent the power dynamic between the researcher and researched (Ropers-Huilman, 1999) in developing, interpreting, and creating the meaning of the stories. Witnessing is being present (in all of what this entails) as another person honestly and intimately orally captures her story, her reality, and her truth (Kegan, 1982). Chicana feminist Delgado-Bernal (1998) stresses the importance of the researcher and the participants collaborating on how the lives of the participants are being documented, interpreted, and reported, which is compatible with participatory witnessing. As Harvey (2002) explains, it demands from the researcher and participants to become vulnerable and collectively engage in deeper understanding of the topic.
Given the theoretical foundation for this research, it was important to have present how Mujeristas and Chicana feminists address the effect of multiple contexts in the way the women told their stories. Engaging in a dialogue with participants about participatory witnessing and explicitly establishing the process of collecting data as well as the analysis as collaborative was key in constructing an atmosphere for the stories to be told. The interview guide was first piloted with Mexican women in Mexico, in order to confirm accuracy regarding the migrant experience and IPV, especially terminology related to crossing the border or the river and victimization itself. Questions in the interview related to four main topics: (1) life as an immigrant woman living in eastern Iowa, (2) the experience of surviving IPV, (3) the experience of being both a Spanish-speaking immigrant Latina and an IPV victim/survivor, and (4) help seeking. (The complete interview guide is available if needed.) The sequence of the questions varied depending on the direction the women decided to take as they told their stories.
First interviews were approximately an hour and a half long. Follow-up interviews were also conducted to go more in depth on certain topics covered in the first interview. Allowing for moments of silence to encourage reflection helped in expanding narratives, and the results were rich in detail. After the first audio-recorded interview was transcribed and studied, the researcher brought the transcript of the first interview and reviewed it with the participants.
Final member checking interviews took place 3–8 months after the follow-up interviews and was used with all participants in different points of the process in order to establish credibility. It involved the researcher and participants conversing about the emerging themes during the data analysis. All participants voiced their thoughts on the findings and interpretation, which in some cases required a reinterpretation of the findings. Two fluent Spanish speakers translated the transcripts into English. The process of translating the transcripts began with a quasi-literal translation of the content into English and then adjusting the translation to make sense, in terms of sequence and context, since literal translations from Spanish to English may not have the same meaning. After the translations were completed, back translation was performed by me to ensure that the translations were accurate.
Data Analysis
Data analysis involved using an iterative search for meaning (Schensul & LeCompte, 1999), which initiated with the first interview by comparing data across and within interviews. Not only did the themes that emerged from the interviews and observations have implications in the individual experiences of the participants but also on a broader societal level. Data analysis and interpretation, with the critical stance in mind, were carried out using stages in Carspecken’s Five-Stage Critical Qualitative Research Method (1996) which requires a conceptual framework to understand the social system. This process allowed a holistic transition from analysis of the individual story to identifying themes connected with the larger social context including social, cultural, and political dimensions. To validate the themes, the researcher conducted a third individual member checking interview with participants. In order to facilitate the management of large quantities of data, all transcripts were imported into Atlas.ti (version 6), a qualitative data management software program.
Results
Stories of Courage and Strength in the Context of Help Seeking
Examining IPV and help seeking among Latina immigrant women, based on Chicana and Mujerista epistemology, resulted in rich layers to the analysis by also sharing their strategies to survival which included developing courage and strength within themselves, in their love for their children, as well as in engaging in solidarity and collectivism with other Latinas in their community.
Many Latinas experiencing IPV at certain points in the relationship ask themselves what alternatives they have especially when they live in a host community. Sometimes doing nothing is an alternative in order to survive. Nevertheless, others attempt to get help, but because they are in such isolation and danger, they may get into even more trouble with the batterer if they seek help, and for those who are vulnerable for their migration status, seeking help is complex. For some of them, silence was the best strategy to deal with their situations. Silence as a result of shame not only allowed the violence to continue but also prevented them from seeking help from formal and informal sources of support. Other participants felt they needed to tell others for the sake of their children or because they felt the batterer was going to seriously hurt them. Regardless of what their reasons were for breaking the silence, the next sections make clear that in spite of all the barriers, these women were willing to seek and accept support.
When asked about the forms of help fundamental to assist immigrant survivors of IPV, all of the participants agreed in the need for obtaining formal support specific to their particular backgrounds. Informal sources of support were important to the participants of the study. Economic as well as emotional supports were provided by nuclear and extended family as well as friends and the informal groups that were mentioned above. The issues of the linguistic and cultural competence, accessibility and knowledge of services for Latinas were the most prevalent to these women. “I know there is a place; there must be something out there…” those were some of the things participants and other women in the community said when asked about what someone could do or where she could go if she experienced IPV. Some women reported turning to family members or friends, mostly females. When inquired about service providers, the ones who had not received services for survivors of IPV talked about shelters or formal groups and organizations in the abstract. For some of them, the information provided them as part of the safety plan was the first they had ever received.
Finding Strength in the Love for Their Children
The process of help seeking can be quite complex for many women who experience IPV. For those who come from a different country, who are also vulnerable because of their migration status or because English is not their first language it becomes even more complex. Participants were asked the reasons to keep moving on despite the many adversities they faced and when help seeking was not as easy. One of the most powerful reasons to keep moving on was the participants’ children. Throughout the various stories, the women affirmed that it was their commitment to their children that made them think about a better future. Contextualized to some of the contradicting cultural values, for many women of color, including Latinas, within their identities as mothers and as women, finding strength through motherhood is culturally bounded (Collins, 2016).
Daughters and sons brought out in these women the strength to cross the river or the border, to endure the struggles of being in a foreign country while at the same time dealing with battering. The next set of quotes is representative of the importance the children played in the lives of the participants, especially when it came to moving ahead in life. If it wasn’t for my children, I don’t know where I would be right now because my children were the ones who made me react, when I was in those most difficult moments…. They were little, they were the ones that comforted me, they (would say) “Mommy, don’t cry.” I think the youngest one gave me a lot of encouragement. (Esperanza) I brought with me three children. And naturally, I always thought of them before myself…more than anything I wanted my kids to have other opportunities which I guess my parents couldn’t give me. (Fe) Right now I am seeing a counselor (female). And she is the one who is helping me to move on and with the help of my daughter, because without my daughter I couldn’t do anything. (Consuelo) I told my sister, “You know what, I feel like going to a shelter. I mean, the children see that situation always. I mean my eldest son, he has comforted me since he was a year old…” I would say: “I mean, my children can’t grow up like this.” (Libertad)
In all of the interviews with Xochitl, she talked about her desire for her son to have a father figure, since her own father had died when she was a young girl. However, she had to make the decision to seek help from her family and later from the police, because she could not take the abuse toward herself and her child any longer. My father died when I was 9 years old and I did not want my son to go through the many shortages like I did…My child is everything to me right now. And I say that if he was a good father…His example, everything that my son lived with him, everything is not what I want for my son. (Xochitl) My children, each day in the morning, when I don’t have the desire to wake up…(Laughs), that motivates me. When I was going through that situation…(Tears…pause)…I wanted to die. (Pause…crying). My children are the ones that give me strength to keep going (sobbing) and change my future. I want my children to have a better life, and be happy. (Esmeralda)
Solidarity and Collectivism: Sharing Courage With Other Women
One way in which liberation takes place for many Latinas telling their own stories. Listening to the realities of these women provides for a deeper understanding of their multiple realities and multiple identities. Isasi-Diaz (1993) explains that solidarity and mutuality among Latina women is a step toward liberation. Researching help seeking with Latinas brought to light the several ways of understanding the process of seeking help with populations in which collectivism and personal relationships are central in their lives, as opposed to individualism. These women who remained silent to protect their families and subsequently broke the silence to their families, often talked in their narratives about other Latinas who were experiencing IPV just as they did. Solidarity was a theme as they talked about what they would tell another Latina if they had the opportunity. They talked about helping and supporting each other. In fact, when exploring possible alternative ways to help survivors of IPV, they suggested that women who had been through the same thing themselves would be their best support.
The participants talked about breaking the silence, of encouraging other Latinas who experience IPV not to accept the abuse and to know that they were not alone. The idea of telling others that they are valuable human beings and that they can allow themselves to imagine a life safe from abuse and from the stigma of being a victim was indeed empowering for the participants. For example, Esperanza, a soft-spoken, yet brave woman told what she would tell another survivor of IPV: Well, what could help is to talk to them, give them a hand and let them know that they are not alone, that they do not have to put up with the abuse, because they are very important…We have, I don’t know, to have dignity and love ourselves above all, because we have children…(Esperanza) They should seek help, they should not stay in that cycle that we ourselves make out of fear, because of the taboo, because “What will people say,” and for so many other things that one puts into one’s head; that none of that is true, and for her to seek help. (Estrella) Look this person had never spoken to me at work, she always, like they say, is bitter and this day she let loose crying…she and I worked like that…she let loose crying, and I told her, “What’s wrong?,” then she said, “It’s that I want to be like you.” Then I told her, “Right now I have my self-esteem high up, I already know that I’m worth something.” I told her, “You know that I know of a place where they can help you.” (Xochitl) I want them to know, I want them to not be afraid and get out of that situation. And what I tell them is, “if I did it, you (can) too.”…That it can be done. We are made stronger than they are, we have children and we have to get ahead. (Libertad) Let me tell you something, I don’t think the same as my mother. I have my two daughters and I have supported my two daughters. My mother did tell me that marriage was life, no, I now support my daughters and I tell them, “No, if you’re not happy, you have no reason to stay there; it doesn’t matter that you already have your kids.” (Fe)
Resistance and Resiliency Despite Multiple Struggles
After crossing the border or the river, full of hopes and dreams of a better future, the women encountered many other challenges. It was not only experiencing IPV in a foreign country but coming face-to-face with not being able to have the things they needed to survive. Between extreme poverty in their native country and the continuation of even more disadvantage in their new globalized world as immigrants, venturing into what seemed a better life made sense to these women. All of the women expressed how important they felt it was to become documented residents of the United States. In her narrative Libertad explains one of the strategies that she used to resist and survive violence from her partner, was working toward becoming documented. She described obtaining residency as being set free, and used her experience as an example to help others. Yes, because once I had my residency, I felt that they had untied my hands and I could make it on my own. And before I could not do anything because I always felt like he had to validate me in everything. So, yes, it makes a big difference. It is very difficult, and I really admire all the illegal women who keep going. (Libertad)
For the Latinas living in the Midwest of the United States, the experience of being battered by their partners is combined with their struggles as Spanish speakers and immigrants. Seeking help in the context of IPV has diverse dimensions. Silence led to feelings of fear, shame, isolation, and desperation and to a point where they felt that there was no way out. Individual struggles and perceptions around help seeking were affected by structural factors that the process even more difficult. Here the intersection between the multiple realities and identities of these Latinas becomes crucial to understanding help seeking in the context of IPV.
The women in this study, despite their great struggles and the barriers they encountered, revealed a facet of help seeking, and also of survival which is as commanding as the needs they have. Bringing hope and solidarity into their stories, shed light onto work with battered women who are disadvantaged and marginalized. Although at certain points their spirits had been broken, these women still had the capacity to stand up to the tough winds of adversity, to show that they are strong and brave, and that they can survive and thrive.
Discussion
Keeping in mind the fundamental tenet of multiple realities, multiple oppressions, and multidimensional analysis in Chicana Feminist and Mujerista epistemology, let us reconsider the individual level factors that are often the focus of helping professionals. An analysis of individual level factors, without a clear understanding of their connection to sociopolitical forces, is problematic because it blames the victim and encourages diagnostic paradigms of women surviving IPV as “the ones with the problem.” Decontextualizing the experiences of these women results in a fragmented analysis of the issue. Although there has been significant contributions of researchers and theorists, many of them women of color and from other marginalized groups, and they have made reference and related individual level factors to structural and contextual factors, a multilayered analysis interweaving these factors is still in development. The findings of this study confirm what the Chicana Feminist and Mujerista approaches suggest as to the presence of multiple realities, multiple identities, and multiple oppressions in the lives of women of color. Isasi-Díaz (1996), in theorizing on the Latina immigrant experience, reiterates the concepts of liberation and resistance related to two dimensions which can very well be applied to this study. Lo cotidiano refers to the daily life experiences by which structural factors affect daily life, as well as la lucha which translates into the struggle against the social order that perpetuates multiple oppressions on the Latino/a community in the United States and how Latinas resist by finding strength in the midst of a complex help-seeking process.
The stories shared by the women reveal that surviving is very much an act of resistance. Regardless of whether they seek help or not, who they seek help from, how they seek help, and the barriers they encounter if they seek help, these women survive by resisting their batterers. Because so many factors impact them, one could say they are abused by many perpetrators, some directly and others indirectly. The abusive intimate partners, the people who blame them, those who stigmatize them, those who remain indifferent, those who ignore them, those who exclude them, and the oppressive system that erodes their spirit, all of these harm them. Despite all the factors that lead these women to fall into despair and to feel powerless, over and over again these women get back on their feet luchando 3 on behalf of their children and themselves. At the end of the day, la lucha is an inherent part of life, in which resilience becomes an important piece of the story of survival of many Latina women who have experienced IPV (Castañeda-Sound, Martínez, & Durán, 2016).
The findings of this study confirm that these Latina immigrant survivors use survival strategies, that the womanists and Mujeristas call resistance. These women resist by finding strength in their faith, reclaiming spaces of peace for their children, and expressing solidarity toward other battered women. They knew that the themes from their stories would be shared with researchers, policy makers, practitioners, educators, students, community leaders, faith-based communities, friends, siblings, fathers and mothers, daughters and sons, men and women. They knew that their stories would be used to encourage collaboration and partnership on behalf of immigrant women. This was the reason to borrow the concept of “allow me to speak” (permítanme hablar) from Mujerista theologist Isasi-Díaz. In her book Mujerista Theology (1996), she explains: We have never been absent from history but we have been ignored by historical accounts. Therefore, our insistence on speaking, on making known our histories is not a matter of making known our past; it is also a matter of participating in making present and future history, of being protagonists, of being agents of our own history…. (p. 133)
Another dimension to solidarity comes back to the important role the children play in the lives of these women. In this study, the participants expressed solidarity with their children. Similar to other studies on IPV among Latinas, the role of the participants as mothers was in fact of source of strength (Kyriakakis, Panchanadeswaran, & Edmond, 2015). In that “quiet revolution” in the intimacy of their home, the women reported talking to their children, especially their daughters, about what they want for them in life. For example, Fe talked about letting her daughters know that they should end an intimate relationship if they were not happy with it, something that her own mother had never communicated to her. In addition, solidarity toward other women as well as their children led them to think about what could be done to help other immigrant Latinas, which could be the step toward empowerment for them and their communities.
Implications for Social Work
Stemming from the lessons taught by the women in this study, social work practice with Latinas and their communities should be centered on a mix of strategies that respect the collectivist identity of Latinas and simultaneously protect the confidentiality and the right of these women to choose their own way to survive, heal, and thrive. A Chicana and Mujerista theoretical model applied to interventions with this population helps in integrating the intersections and multiple realities into how they make sense of their stories of survival. A combination of individual interventions, group therapy, and community interventions could be crafted in consultation with the specific population or community.
Social marketing that is culturally congruent with Latinos/as should also be considered to oppose IPV. Following the concept of collectivism, rather than focusing on the individual victim, programs should promote the protection of women and children as part of the community’s responsibility. Slogans related to peace, solidarity, and democracy in the family could be disseminated as well as posters exalting la lucha of Latinos and Latinas, and their strength as people. Such initiatives might also raise consciousness in the community. Such community education programs should not replace efforts made by formal institutions to survivors of IPV. Many Latino/a community members might have the best intentions to help their communities but lack resources and knowledge on how to get organized and make something happen. Partnerships and collaborations between the communities and formal sources of support are ideal to address IPV. Different programs have been successful in implementing some of these efforts. There is a definite need to continue developing these collaborations as well as evaluating both the process and its effectiveness. For example, in working safety plans and interventions with Latinas and their children, it would be important to consider collectivism and community-based efforts to address IPV in Latino/a communities.
In terms of social work policy, there is a need to address access for undocumented immigration who survive IPV at the public policy level in which revictimization is carefully considered in both the formulation and the implementation of policies for this population. Along these lines, a commitment to inclusiveness and social justice must be a priority for policy makers, especially in a country as diverse as the United States. For undocumented immigrants a comprehensive immigration reform is urgent. As evidenced in this article, children were a driving force in the help-seeking process for Latinas experiencing IPV as well as their strength in dealing with victimization. It becomes imperative that children’s protection as well as their mothers’ are taken into account in the development of policies for immigrant survivors of IPV, especially when the mother is undocumented and the children are not. Although many organizations are diligently trying to address these issues, the reality is that many programs are enduring devastating cuts in the funding for services for the survivors and their children. Under the current funding crisis at federal and state government levels, funding for these programs is at great risk.
Regarding research, there is a need for a wide range of studies that focus on the use of mental health services and specialized resources to respond to IPV as well as studies of provisions in the criminal justice system for immigrant survivors. An examination of help seeking across a larger time span would also be helpful in tracing the stories of the women longitudinally. Other potential studies involve comparative research between rural and urban immigrant battered women of color in relation to prevalence and experience of IPV as well as help seeking. Research on social work and IPV could also be expanded to amplify experiences of survival, strength, courage, resilience, and resistance. Using a Chicana and Mujerista theoretical model, more research on resistance strategies for Latina immigrants is very much needed. Focusing on collectivism and its impact on help seeking could help in addressing nontraditional strategies to help seeking.
This research was conducted to understand how Spanish-speaking immigrant Latinas survivors of IPV experience help seeking in a rural area in the Midwest. In-depth accounts of their experiences revealed the complexities of help seeking for these women who live in a new immigration gateways in the United States. Their stories along with an examination of the community where these women live, make clear that help seeking is influenced by a range of elements which include structural, contextual, and cultural factors, interactions of informal and formal sources of support, the dynamics within IPV, and individual factors. The findings support the idea that macro-level influences shape the way in which individuals experience social problems such as IPV. The findings were used to challenge social work practitioners, researchers, and policy makers to use a model of empowerment and participation to bring about change in the lives of these immigrant Latinas, their children, and their communities. The participants of the study demonstrate that despite the multiple struggles affecting help seeking, they are still strong and are working hard to move ahead (luchando) for themselves, their children, and their communities.
Footnotes
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
Funding
The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Grant numbers and/or funding information: This research was funded by Grant #1R49CE001167-01 of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.