Hispanic Social Justice Issue
Domestic violence is an issue that affects women and men of any age, race, cultural or even economical background. Those in the Latino communities face cultural boundaries when they find themselves in an abusive relationship/marriage. Many Latinos identify as Catholic or being raised Catholic, whom do not believe in divorce. Often time’s men are identified as the leader of the family and women are expected to obey their husbands. Latinos who are middle class or low income families find themselves financially strapped to the abuser, with no way out literally. According to this week’s readings the community development model “has five functions that communities should serve to include: Production-distribution-consumption of goods and services-that are a part of daily living; socialization-which is a process that society transmits prevailing knowledge or social values; social control-where a group influences the behaviors of its members; social participation- which is the level of involvement of people in social, political and economic processes; and lastly mutual support-which involves encouragement, assistance and cooperation of people in the community” (Kirst-Ashman, 2011, pg. 437). This developmental model is important to most domestic violence causes because the assistance must be readily available both physically and monetarily, plus knowledge of such resources needs to be made known both in English and Spanish so that women have a way out. If society could change people’s behavior towards domestic violence (i.e. reducing stereotypes like she will never leave), and encourage people to seek help this would be a lot less prevalent in Latino communities. There needs to be support and encouragement given to these women that it is indeed ok to leave. The children who are caught in between a physically abusive parent and non-abusive parent need more laws to protect them. There is so much more knowledge out there today about signs of domestic violence and where to