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MCC Daily Tribune Archive

Diversity Dispatch: Domestic Violence and Diversity


The recent tragedy at SUNY Brockport has brought a spotlight to the issue of domestic violence among college students. MCC’s Civility Committee is planning several activities for domestic violence awareness and prevention throughout the 2012/13 academic year. How does domestic violence relate to diversity? Actually, people from minority groups, including immigrants, people of color, people with disabilities, and GLBT (gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender) people, often find it “even more difficult to break the cycle of violence” than people from the majority (https://www.whbw.org/education/diversity-and-domestic-violence/).

Both documented and undocumented immigrants may hesitate to report domestic violence because of cultural restrictions within their communities or fear of discrimination or racial profiling, amplified by the risk of deportation for undocumented immigrants (https://www.whbw.org/education/diversity-and-domestic-violence/). Some African American and Latino/a people may “disproportionately experience stressors that can create conditions that lead to violence in the home” (https://www.idvaac.org/). Domestic violence toward people with disabilities is also more prevalent than among people without disabilities; sometimes people with disabilities are abused by caretakers on whom they depend for basic needs, such as food and transportation, so hesitate to report the abuse. GLBT people also fear discrimination as well as a lack of protection under domestic violence laws (
https://www.whbw.org/education/diversity-and-domestic-violence/).

The New York State Coalition against Domestic Violence (NYSCADV) encourages victims of domestic violence to develop safety plans for various situations and offers some specific tips for victims who decide to leave an abusive situation (https://www.nyscadv.org/safety-planning/). In Monroe County, three resources for help are Alternatives for Battered Women (585-232-7353; TTY 585-232-1741), the Gay Alliance of the Genesee Valley (585-244-8640), and Lifespan’s Elder Abuse Prevention Services (main office 585-244-8400; toll-free 1-800-454-5030; TTY 585-340-2313 via Relay Service at 711).

The American Bar Association offers a detailed list of tips for protecting oneself in a variety of domestic violence situations: in an emergency when being threatened or attacked; general protection at home; making one’s children safer; protection outside the home; making work safer; using the law for help; what to do in criminal proceedings; and being safe at the courthouse (https://apps.americanbar.org/tips/publicservice/safetipseng.html). Even if you haven’t experienced domestic violence yourself, reading these tips may enable you to respond in a more informed way to a request for help from a family member, friend, neighbor, or co-worker. 

This is part of a monthly series of articles from the Diversity Council about topics related to diversity and multiculturalism.

Debbie Mohr
MCC Diversity Council (ETS: Libraries)
11/02/2012