By C. White on September 24, 2015
(Edited from the original post on September 9, 2015)
Jones, Feminista. 2014, September 10. “Why Black Women Struggle More with Domestic Violence. http://time.com/3313343/ray-rice-black-women-domestic- violence/
Jones (2014) began the article with, “Domestic and intimate partner violence (DV/IPV) is a ‘family secret’ in our Black communities.” She blamed racism and sexism as the reasons for African American female DV/IPV. She studied this issue and found that African American females represent 8% of the United States (US) population but make up 29% of total abuse from DV/IPV. Jones blamed institutional racism and employment disparities for reasons many abusive African American males engage in intra-racial DV/IPV on their African American wives, girlfriends, or female lovers. Jones attested that abused females often stay in these relationships because they faced more income disparities than African American males, and therefore, depended upon their husbands, boyfriends, and male lovers for income. But where does this mindset originate from? Well, throughout history, African American females were expected to be subservient and secondary to others. So therefore, their problems were usually dismissed and ignored.
This article suggested that African Americans, or at least some, struggle with DV/IPV because it is a generational issue and many African Americans grew up witnessing these harsh acts. African American females have always been generalized by others as being insignificant and ones who are unworthy of anything positive. It appeared that many African American males unconsciously adopted this view.
So do at least some African American females in DV/IPV relationships think society cares about them and their abuse? Based upon the article, most likely not, especially if they grew up witnessing violence and grew to minimize abuse. But from my own experiences with writing about African American DV/IPV, I know firsthand that writers may read things and communicate their emotions into their work. From the writer’s tone, she is affected by the story and possibly by stories that she is personally aware of. Therefore, appears to unknowingly communicate that abused African American females are in their predicament due to circumstances outside of their control. But these females are not truly trapped and are able to get out of their unwanted circumstances if they desire.