dome
I
byLo
Co-chair; Women of Coior
TaskForce
Michigan Coalition Again.rt
Domestic Violence
She may have blood stream­
ing from open wounds on
various parts of her body and/or
have visible bruises from the top
of her head to the bottom of her
foo . She may even have broken
bones and her entire body
aches. She may even feel as if
she's just survived a major b t­
tie in a raging war. Yet, shewill
100 t you straigh in the, eye
while e proudly, firmly fat�,
"He might -have whipPC<r'me,
but I fought lilce a tigress".
She'll very explicitly rattle off
all the derogatory terms he's
used to describe her and various
parts of her anatomy, but she'll
hold her head high, laugh ner­
vously, and say, "I called that so
and so everything I could think
of. too, so 're even".
Beca she fights back, it's
very difficult for her to under­
stand or believe that-she's a vic­
tim of domestic violence.
Who· she? Sh 's anyone of
the thousand of men of
color who endure the pangs of
spouse abuse inMichigan,
daily. The number are propor­
tionately higher, when they are
considered on a national basis.
LI ·TH ATE G
ot only is she victim, ut
her situation is more Iife­
thre tening that y disea e
kno to the human race. She
Ii with a smolderi-, wlcano
which might e p le� at
any time.
Ho does e extinguish it or
remove herself from the realms
of . escalating danger? .
There are 48 domestic
vio ence progr in'Michigan
and i' very litety that e ,.
close to I ODe of them.
The DrograIDS rovide. tem­
t • '\� c:harF., to
battered women and their
children.
Additionall me of them
provide non-residential coun­
seling and support group to
victims of spouse abuse, rape,
and incest. While these services
are available to all omen, too
few women of color are utilizing
them. That fact is of major con­
cern to the Michigan.
Coalition's Women of Color
iaskForce.
'Currently, the tas force
comprised' of women of color
who wor with domestic
vl()lc;nce . prpgr�' �qQss 'the
'state. However, it's riot limited
towomen wh� are already in the
movement. Other women are
welcome to join.
Actually, that is only one of
several issues plaguing the task
force, who feels there is a
tremendous need to educate
people of color about the im­
pact of domestic violence on
their lives and family structure.
Some of the specific issues the
task force is prepared to ad-
dre arc: . ., I' '
- The myths and beliefs
which surround and help to per­
petuate the cycle of domestic
violence. - The long range ef­
fects of fighting back.
- The relationship between
self-esteem and the acceptance
of VIolence in one's life.
- Alternative methods of
discipline to help eliminate the
eye of violence.
- How culture and upbring­
ing helps to determine respon­
ses to, domestic violence
si uatio .
UND
ome of the m common
myths and beliefs surrounding
domestic violence are:
TAS
- "My children need their
father; besides, they don't real­
lyunderstand what's going on."
- "He can't hit any harder
than I can."
-" 'm not scared of him
anymore. My son has vowednot
to let him hurt me anymore."
The foregoing list isn't con­
clusive and certainly not all of
them are unique to women of
ment against domestic violence. perience.
Members of the t force Another plus in volunteering
have' no qualms when it comes is that frequently it Ie ds to
tosta ingtheir e, "We under- . employment within the
stand how and w y women of pr . am. The programs a
color deal with domestic offer excellentInternships for
violence in the manner that they students who are pur uing
.do. It's not that our white sisters degrees in social wor , sociol­
don't give it their best shot, but ogy, psychology, etc.
it's one thing to read about our While the task force recog­
cultures and another one to live nize this an urgent need,
they consider educating women
of color about domestic
violence and th help av ilabl
to th m even more urgent.
They are committed to their
tas of providing the education,
but realize it will not be easy.
They won't be undaunted
though. They've agreed to. press
on. If you ask w at some of the
needs are, they'll quic ly
respond: .
- Pamphlets addres ing
specific women of color issues
regarding parenting. their role
in domestic violence and how
the way they are viewed by
society helps perpetuate that
role, etc.
- Videos potr ying women
of color in domestic violence
situations, without stereotyp­
ing, - Outreach programs for
women of color,
, . - More particip tion of
women of color in state and na­
tional wor /shop /seminars
which deal with domestic
violence' and related-topics,
- Validation of the exper­
tise of women of color, and
- Educational p ogr for
youth of color to help them
break the cycle of violence.
The las force' next meeting
will be focused on what they can
do to meet th needs effec- .
lively on a e-· e b .
V1JJ;� r :. R �9M�'!!I'IIt·. 't-,,""""
, . �
color, however ft is true their
responses to them are directly
related to their culture and
upbringings.
The familiarity of those
responses along with
heightened w .reness of
domestic violence have created
a sense of alarm for the mem­
bers of the task force. Another
problem plaguing the task force
is the low visibility of women of
color working in and volunteer­
ing at dome tic violence
programs. ere' an inere
ing need for men of_colqr to
become in�"H.J f!
within them".
NEED WOME 0 COLOR
While the task force con­
sider itself a viable part of the
movement, they are concerned
about the shortage of their mir­
rored image (other women of
color).
They are encouraging,
women of color to become in­
volved in the movement through
employment, voluntering. inter­
nships, etc. Volunteering for
domestic violence program can
be rewardi and fuIfillin& as
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