Domestic Violence Against Immigrants

The four domestic violence services that currently exist in the High Country are doing as much as they can to serve a large population. They serve different dimensions of domestic violence services, from prevention to post violence assistance. They work hard to overcome the barriers associated with rural communities. The most helpful solution to increasing their services and helping more women would be to provide more funding for their organizations. Actually increasing the funding they receive however, is not an easy task. Working within the Women’s Fund of the Blue Ridge has been an eye opening experience. Although they are a fund-giving organization, they still operate under some of the same constraints as other non-profit organizations.

The VAWA is up for reauthorization again next year. While there is no way to know how this congress will vote to change this bill, the Republican-heavy political climate indicates the probability of a conservative tone. The inability to extend domestic violence protections against immigrants in the 2013 bill is likely to be repeated during this reauthorization. That, unfortunately, would be a mistake. As research identifies problem areas in the field of domestic violence, social services are able to address them. Research prevents domestic violence agencies from blindly providing services in the hopes that they make a positive impact in the community. The addition of immigrant protection to the 2018 VAWA bill would increase the research on this currently overlooked population. Immigrants bring a unique cultural experience with them, and as stated above culture has a large impact on an individual’s beliefs, including what behaviors they consider to be abusive. Extending protection to immigrant populations would increase the existing knowledge base of domestic violence and improve social services’ abilities to provide quality care to women in