Research Paper on:
Domestic Violence and Minorities

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
because of the lack of social and legal resources at their disposal on the basis of their ethnicity. In the United States, people are categorized most often by their  race and gender, and the matter of domestic violence is no exception. The minority women who have been victimized by physical abuse often suffer in silence, because they conclude  that they have no other alternatives. Two recent articles have explored the issue of domestic violence from the minority perspective in order to encourage open dialogue on the problems  and offer possible solutions to them, through organization. Domestic violence consultant Dr. Fernando Mederos authored an article on the November 1997 Steering Committee meeting, sponsored by the U.S. Department  of Health and Human Services that was composed of six women and two men to address the problems of domestic violence in California Latino communities entitled, "National Symposium on La  Violencia Domestica: An Emerging Dialogue Among Latinos." Deanna L. Jang examined the issue from the Eastern womens immigrant perspective in her article, "Asian Immigrant Women Fight Domestic Violence."  Concerning the Latino situation regarding domestic violence, it was noted that there has been "a history of silence" (Mederos, 2001, p. 233). The Symposium was an attempt to  give Latina women a greater voice in what has typically been a male dominant society. It addressed the problems facing contemporary Latina women such as limited Welfare benefits, restricted  coverage in health care and disability benefits (Mederos, 2001). Since Latina women are better able to secure these benefits if they are married, this reinforces their dependence upon the  men who are committing acts of domestic violence against them. The Symposium also discussed the "internalized oppression" that has long been an integral part of the Latino/Latina culture, which