For my Spanish senior seminar class, I am writing a research paper about domestic abuse against Latinas inside the United States (Latinas constitute immigrants and generations of immigrants).  There isn’t a whole lot of national data on Latinas’ experiences with domestic abuse, but there is research that tells us that it does happen and that current resources for victims of domestic abuse don’t meet the cultural needs of Latinas.  I find this interesting because the United States has a huge growing Hispanic population and while there are current movements that seek to promote Hispanic causes, there aren’t very many movements that are bringing light to domestic abuse within their communities.  This is largely in part due to the machismo and marianismo within Hispanic culture.  Machismo is the idea of dominant, powerful men and marianismo is the idea of the submissive, passive female.  In traditional Hispanic culture, the woman is expected to be sensitive and caring, to worry about the family and make sure that everything is harmonious (or at least appears to be).  She shouldn’t make scenes or openly question her husband’s actions.  The man is expected to be the head of the household and to economically support his family.  His word is often the final word.  Now, just to be clear, I know that this is traditional and over simplified.  In real life, these roles are subtle and not so easily recognized upon first glance.  However, they still very much exist.  Many battered women’s shelters, while they accept everyone, cater to the dominant white culture.  Thus, their resources are limited when it comes to understanding battered Latinas.    The first, most obvious obstacle for women’s shelters in understanding this issue is the language barrier—not everyone knows how to speak Spanish.  Another obstacle lies in understanding the dynamics of romantic relationships within the Hispanic community (what behavior is acceptable/unacceptable and what behavior, abuse, is never acceptable no matter what culture a woman is from.)  Perhaps the biggest obstacle is that many Latina immigrants don’t come forward with their experiences of domestic abuse and they don’t press charges against their abuser because they’re afraid of being deported.  This last issue can only be resolved within a community by building trust with its Latina members (outreach programs, talking to law enforcement agencies, making legal connections.)  I don’t have a ton of information yet, but I will continue to blog as I do more research and I expect to learn enough to be able to say what makes a good women’s shelter or what helps a community to better deal with all types of domestic abuse.