Essay On African American Domestic Violence

Words: 567
Pages: 3

How does domestic violence affect Native American and African American women, compared to women of other races? In many cases, indigenous and black women are at a higher risk of domestic violence than their peers, and it is more likely to have lasting effects, or even be fatal. The risk of domestic violence goes up when a woman has a lower socioeconomic status and/or is a woman of color, and this crime, which often ends in death, is one of the most underreported crimes in the nation. The lower a woman’s socioeconomic status, the higher her risk for experiencing intimate partner violence. Domestic violence among African Americans “occurs more frequently among couples with low incomes, those in which the male partner is underemployed or unemployed, …show more content…
The police chief of the Pascua Yaqui tribe reservation near Tucson, Arizona, Michael Valenzuela, said that the most he could do in the past to abusive men who lived off of the reservation was drive them to the edges of it and hope they would not return. However, they usually did. “‘Can you imagine responding to call where there is clear evidence of a crime committed by an individual and you cannot arrest them’” Valenzuela remarked (Carcamo). What the United States really needs at this point are more legal protections and funding for both shelters and healthcare, especially in low-income neighborhoods and on reservations, to keep African American and Native American women safe. Everyone needs to be made more aware of domestic violence occurring, particularly in poor, predominantly-black or -indigenous communities so it can be eradicated. Intimate partner violence, one of the most underreported crimes in the country, disproportionately affects Native American and African American women, resulting in murder half the time. Black and indigenous women face many hardships due to centuries of colonization, slavery, and everyday racism. Another issue the American justice system has been failing to improve is the rate at which intimate partner violence fatally impacts these