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DOMESTIC VIOLENCE
Domestic violence is any abusive or coercive behavior by a person against an intimate partner or a family member. Intimate partner relationships include dating, cohabiting, and marital relationships, past or present, heterosexual or homosexual. Domestic violence is not limited to physical and sexual assault, but also includes psychological and emotional abuse such as humiliation and degradation; attacks against personal property or pets; threats of violence against the victim, others, or self; social isolation; economic abuse; stalking; or any other behavior intended to cause fear or maintain power and control over the victim. It occurs irrespective of age and gender, though statistically most abusers are men and most victims are women based on reported incidents. Because of their different cultures, and because poverty and language issues may create additional pressures on households, domestic violence raises different issues in communities of African Americans, Latino Americans, and Asian Americans. After a brief general examination of domestic violence, this entry focuses on those differences.

Overview
Domestic violence in intimate partner relationships is almost always rooted in the possessiveness of the abuser and the abusers desire to control and dominate the victim because of his or her own insecurity in himself or herself and in the relationship. Abusers fear that their victims will eventually leave them, and thus, they create an environment of fear, terror, and degradation to keep their victims in the relationship. Domestic violence usually shatters the self-esteem of the victim, so that the victim believes that he or she deserves the abuse, that he or she is unworthy of better treatment, or that he or she is hopelessly trapped in the relationship.
The Cycle of Violence

Domestic violence is rarely an isolated incident, and it involves a pattern of behavior, commonly referred to as the cycle of violence. The cycle of violence, defined first by Dr. Lenore Walker, occurs in three repeating stages: tension-building, acute battery, and relief. During the tension-building

stage, the abuser engages in multiple minor incidents of control and abuse against the victim. Commonly, the abuser will find fault with the victim and abuse the victim verbally, emotionally, or physically. The victim typically acquiesces to the abuser in hope of appeasing the abuser and preventing the abusers anger and the abuse from escalating into an acute battery incident. The victim may engage in denial, excusing the abusers anger and blaming it on any external factor apart from the abuser; the victim may justify the abusers conduct by attributing it to a difficult day at work, stress, or often, the victims own behavior. The tension-building stage culminates in the acute battery phase, an episode more severe than any incident during the previous stage that usually results in severe physical and emotional injury to the victim as well as emotional injury to the children who might witness the abuse. The acute battery stage may signify a breaking point for both parties. The abuse has reached the limits of his or her desire to control and dominate, and the victim has reached the limit of his or her ability to cope with the fear. The victim may have grown so tired of the constant stress and terror of the tension-building stage that he or she accepts the inevitability of the battery, however violent and severe. The victim believes there is nothing that he or she can do to prevent it and accepts that he or she must endure it. Even if the abuser recognizes that he or she has lost control, the abuser nevertheless blames the victim or some other circumstance for the incident. It is most often in the acute battery phase that the victim may finally seek help from third parties. Regardless of whether the victim tries to leave, what follows is the relief, or honeymoon, phase where the abuser becomes repentant and sometimes engages in extremely loving and kind behavior toward the victim. Usually the abuser genuinely believes that he or she is able to change, and this earnestness will often convince the victim that the abuser will carry out this promise. The victim may be influenced by uncertainty and fear; the victim may not want to leave the abuser or see the abuser go to prison because the victim depends on the abuser financially, and this is further compounded if they have children together. Conversely, the victim may be moved by pity for the abuser, believing that the abuser needs the victim as much as the victim needs the abuser and that he or she can be a positive influence in the abusers life. If the victim does return to the abuser, they will enjoy a

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time of peace and respite until the cycle resets and repeats.
The Legacy of Domestic Violence

Most domestic violence counselors believe that domestic violence is not caused by anger, stress, alcohol, drugs, genetics, the behavior of the victim, or any other external circumstance. Rather, they believe domestic violence is learned through observation, experience, and reinforcement of parental models. Patterns of domestic violence are often passed on to subsequent generations. Individuals who end up being abusers and victims are statistically more likely to have grown up in abusive households where they were victims or witnesses of domestic violence. Without having experienced any alternative models, abusers often revert to the violent model of their parents for resolving conflict. Similarly, victims often inherit a distorted sense of self-worth and affection from parents in an abusive relationship and end up falling into similar patterns because they know no alternative.

mistrust a justice system that they perceive as traditionally racist; their reluctance to report violence may be exacerbated when the victim lives in poverty and relies upon her husband for financial support. Another obstacle that prevents African American women from seeking domestic violence support is the superwoman complex, where African American women are brought up to believe that they must bear hardships without support and without complaint.
Latino American Communities

Racial and Ethnic Variances

African American Communities

High poverty rates and the history of institutionalized racism in the United States create additional dynamics for domestic violence in African American communities. Year 2000 census data show that African Americans earn a median household income of $29,530 compared with the national average of $41,994, and that 25% of the African American population falls below the federal poverty line compared with the national average of 12%. African American males continue to experience high degrees of unemployment and underemployment, which may cause added psychological pressures because of cultural norms dictating that men are to be the breadwinners in the family. African Americans also continue to be victimized by racism and social stereotyping. This disempowerment and resulting frustration may be a factor in the violence vented by African American males against intimate partners and family members. Furthermore, poverty and historical racism may also deter African American women from reporting domestic violence. African American women may

In addition to poverty, cultural factors and language access affect the ways in which domestic violence is dealt with in Latino households. According to 2000 census data, the median household income for Latino families in the United States is $33,676, and 23% of the population subsists below federal poverty. Additionally, 40% of the Latino population is foreign born, and 41% are limited English proficient. Many Latino cultures are patriarchal; domestic violence may be perceived as the legitimate right of a husband to discipline his wife and children. As a result, neither perpetrators nor victims may believe that there is anything wrong with domestic violence. In Latino cultures, women who seek a divorce may receive little economic support or may lose custody of their children. Latina women who are unfamiliar with U.S. laws may not understand that they have addition options in the United States. Limited English proficiency further prevents many Latina victims from reporting or seeking help. A woman who is undocumented may equate law enforcement with immigration officials. If her abuser is undocumented, she may not report because she fears he will be deported, especially if he is the main source of income for the family. An abuser may also use immigration status as a method of terror, humiliation, and control by threatening a partner with possible deportation.
Asian American Communities

Like Latino American communities, Asian American communities also have cultural and language access issues when it comes to domestic violence. According to 2000 census data, 63% of the Asian American population is foreign born, and 36% is limited English proficient. Many Asian American cultures are extremely patriarchal. Gender roles are unequal and rigidly prescribed, and domestic violence

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is seen as a purely private matter that the government does not interfere with. Any public exposure of family discord is seen as shameful, and women who leave their husbands may be severely ostracized or worse. Like Latinas, Asian American victims face language access and immigration barriers in reporting. As a result, there is likely to be substantial underreporting of domestic violence in Asian American households. In many Asian cultures, the wife completely severs ties from her own family and joins her husbands extended household; thus, an Asian American victim may experience abuse not only from her husband but also from his relatives. Though most of the Asian American population has median household incomes well above the national average except certain Pacific Islander groups and Southeast Asian refugee populations, many immigrant families experience downward career mobility when coming to the United States because of language access problems. Like African American families, there is often a reversal of gender roles in Asian American families, with similar psychological consequences for men that may contribute to domestic violence.

residents to self-petition for their status independent of their abusers. In 2000, Congress passed the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act (VTVPA) which created the U-visa, which allows victims of certain crimes, including domestic violence and sexual assault, to apply for nonimmigrant status if they cooperate with law enforcement authorities in the investigation or prosecution of the crime. Stewart Chang
See also Family; Immigration and Gender; Parenting; Social Work; Victimization

Further Readings

Remedies for Immigrant Victims

When immigrant victims of domestic violence are undocumented, abusers may use immigration status as a method of power and control, threatening to have the victim deported or advising the victim that he or she will be deported if the victim calls police. An immigrant victim is more likely to have language access problems, which makes it even more difficult for him or her to seek police, medical assistance, or other services. An immigrant victim may be entirely dependent on the abuser and therefore easier to isolate socially. The victim has left his or her home country and has less access to family and community support networks. Recognizing the ability of abusers to use immigration status as an instrument of control, Congress enacted several laws between 1990 and 2000 to remedy the power imbalance. In the 1990 Immigration Act, Congress created a domestic violence waiver so that battered spouses with conditional residency could self-petition for their permanent residency status independent of their abusers. In 1994, Congress expanded protection for victims with the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) to allow undocumented battered spouses and children of U.S. citizens or legal permanent

Bancroft, Lundy. 2002. Why Does He Do That? New York: Berkley. Grieco, Elizabeth M. and Rachel C. Cassidy. 2001. Overview of Race and Hispanic Origin 2000. Census 2000 Brief. C2KBR/01-1. Washington, U.S. DC: Government Printing Office. Levinson, David. 1989. Family Violence in Cross Cultural Perspective. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Sokoloff, Natalie, ed. 2005. Domestic Violence at the Margins. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press. Tjaden, Patricia and Nancy Thoennes. 2000. Full Report of the Prevalence, Incidence, and Consequences of Violence Against Women: Findings from the National Violence Against Women Survey. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice. Volpp, Leti. 1995. Working with Battered Immigrant Women: A Handbook to Make Services Accessible. San Francisco, CA: Family Violence Prevention Fund. Walker, Lenore. 1978. The Battered Woman. New York: Harper & Row.

DOMESTIC WORK
Paid domestic work encompasses a wide array of labor types usually referred to as care work or reproductive labor. Most paid domestic work positions involve housecleaning or child care, possibly cooking, or some combination of the three. Over time, minority womenfirst African Americans and later Latinascame to be represented disproportionately in these jobs. This entry provides a brief history of domestic work and its relationship to race and ethnicity in U.S. society.