Understanding the Impact of the Sociopolitical Environment on Decision-Making for Reporting Intimate Partner Violence to Police Among Latina/e Survivors in Baltimore,Maryland: A Qualitative Study

Abstract

Latina/e women in the United States experience intimate partner violence (IPV) at lower rates than women of other ethnicities but worse IPV-related outcomes, potentially due to differences in access to support services. Anecdotal evidence during the first Trump campaign and presidency raised concerns about the impact of anti-immigrant rhetoric and policy on IPV reporting to police among Latina/e IPV survivors. This study aimed to qualitatively explore the potential chilling effect of the sociopolitical environment during this time on IPV reporting to police among Latina/e survivors in the United States. We recruited English and Spanish-speaking adult Latina/e survivors living in Baltimore, Maryland, who experienced IPV during the first Trump campaign and administration (N = 16). Qualitative interviews followed a semi-structured guide to explore IPV reporting to police and the impact of the first Trump presidency. Survivors felt that anti-Latine discrimination increased during the Trump presidency, and most but not all women endorsed a specific chilling effect of the Trump administration on their IPV reporting to police. All women described a persistent chilling environment in which lack of formal documentation status engendered fear of their deportation or deportation of abusive partners on whom they were economically dependent, which hindered IPV reporting to police. Several described how this environment transcends the increased anti-immigrant rhetoric and immigrant enforcement of any one presidential administration. Despite these barriers, women described how time in the United States grew their social networks, which increased their self-efficacy in reporting by sensitizing them to their rights as survivors and to norms that were less permissive of IPV. Results demonstrate how the sociopolitical environment influences Latina/e women’s individual-level decisions to report IPV to police and the need for a tailored approach to address salient barriers to help-seeking, including fear of deportation and economic dependence on abusers.

Keywords

intimate partner violence immigration help-seeking police reporting

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