Intersectionality:
Violence Against Women of Color Confirmed by many Studies due to Socioeconomic Factors
Kimberle W. Crenshaw,
in Mapping the Margins: Intersectionality,
Identity Politics, and Violence Against Women of Color, discusses how race,
gender, and color are intertwined making it more difficult to escape injustices
than women who are racially privileged (Crenshaw). After studying this in my
Women Studies class at CSUF, I found these studies below confirming this
theory. These are just a few, there are many, many more.
I also found a website
(see url below) about the awareness and acknowledgement of intersectionality as
being one of the first steps to helping. Knowing that racism, patriarchalism,
and socioeconomic class are combined forces will allow better insight into
helping improve the situation. This website helps explain the facts and issues
of Intersectionality. I believe if we educate each other, we can help to find
answers toward a solution.
url to learn more
about intersectionality:
Studies Confirming Existence of
Intersectionality
Distinguishing Race/Ethnicity from Other
Factors
Studies have
generally found that racial differences in rates of intimate partner violence
and sexual assault can be almost completely explained by socioeconomic variables.
This is because social problems like violence and substance abuse tends to be
more prevalent in poor
communities where there are also disproportionately large numbers of
minority women. The fact that many minority groups experience higher rates of
violence simply reflects the number of minority women living in poverty
Domestic
Violence and African Americans
African Americans, including African
American Women suffer deadly violence from family members at rates decidedly
higher than for other racial groups in the United States. However, it is
observed that research concerning family violence among African Americans is
inadequate. Factors such as the breakdown of families,
unemployment and underemployment, poor schools, inadequate vocational skills
and training, bad housing, the influence and use of drugs, and the
density of liquor stores in the inner city contribute to the problem of
domestic violence. All of these ingredients may compound and coalesce into a
strong undercurrent of frustration that can lead to domestic violence.
Domestic
Violence & Black Women
Intimate partner violence among African
Americans is related to economic
factors. Intimate partner violence among blacks occurs more frequently
among couples with low incomes, those in which the male partner is underemployed or unemployed,
particularly when he is not seeking work, and among couples residing in very poor neighborhoods,
regardless of the couple’s income.
• In a nationally representative survey
conducted in 1996, 29% of African American women and 12% of African American
men reported at least one instance of violence from an intimate partner.
• African Americans account for a
disproportionate number of intimate partner homicides. In 2005, African
Americans accounted for almost 1/3 of the intimate partner homicides in this
country.
• Black women comprise 8% of the U.S.
population but in 2005 accounted for 22% of the intimate partner homicide
victims and 29% of all female victims of intimate partner homicide.
Black Women
and Domestic Violence
Black women suffer higher incidences of domestic violence – and the situations are filled with various
components stacked against black families. Many poor women cannot escape the
violence due to poverty,
and often times – unemployment
and a lack of family support. Low paying jobs often force women to work
two jobs should they finally escape the abuse. Unfortunately, this struggle
will leave their children to fend for themselves most of the day. This is one
of the reasons why young black children find trouble in the streets – they have
no parents in the home to supervise and make sure they are on the right path. I
am not faulting a woman having to work away from home, however, without family
and friends for support – the escape from violence often introduces other
negative factors.
