Evaluating Domestic Violence Interventions for Black Women

ABSTRACT

Although African American women are at disproportionate risk for domestic violence, review of the literature suggests that traditional law enforcement, criminal justice, and advocacy efforts may be ineffective with this population due to (a) Black female victims' experiences of systemic racism and oppression, which prevents disclosure of abuse and access to resources, and (b) utilization of culture-blind approaches in the development and administration of interventions. In an attempt to increase cultural sensitivity in addressing violence against Black women and to increase the effectiveness of current interventions, we examine the use of restorative justice approaches that both incorporate and go beyond criminal justice interventions by including the needs and concerns of Black female victims, offenders, and the larger community to eliminate violence.

KEYWORDS:

• Domestic violence
• African American
• battered women
• intervention
• restorative justice

Notes

1. The following factors are related to police compliance: a police officer's ideology, the level of experience, a victim's credibility, the dangerousness of the offender, and political and practical considerations (Martin, 1997).

2. At the Color of Violence Spring 2000 conference, women of color expressed views that the criminal justice system perpetuates the violence of racism, the violence of colonialism, and the violence of patriarchy by means of enforcement violence. Enforcement violence covers violence and the abuse of authority by law enforcement agencies, including local and state police agencies; local, state, and federal prison systems; U.S. Border Patrol; interior enforcement agencies of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS); and the INS detention system (Bhattacharjee, 2001). For more information about enforcement violence, see Whose Safety? Women of Color and the Violence of Law Enforcement (Bhattacharjee, 2001).