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cambio de colores (change of colors)
latinos in missouri: neighbors in urban and rural communities

march 12-14, 2003
university of missouri-kansas city
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Last updated:
July 3, 2003

Workshop: Domestic Violence and Related Family Issues

By Mariana De Maio
A report contributed by

Speakers:

  • Elena Morales, Program Director, Latino Domestic Violence Intervention program, El Centro Inc.; Founder, Mujeres Unidas Saliendo Adelante (MUSA)
  • Judith R. González, Psy.D., LMFD, Executive Director and Founder, Mano a Mano (Hand in Hand), Multicultural Life Center, Psychological Resident, Forest Institute of Professional Psychology, Southwest Missouri.

Elena Morales:

MUSA = Women United Moving Forward/ Mujeres Unidas Saliendo Adelante

Psychodrama: interpreted by MUSA members

What has helped you survive?

  • my faith in God
  • my children

Domestic Violence

  • Criminal justice issue
  • Legal
  • Human rights
  • Social
  • Health/Mental health
  • Economic
  • Moral and spiritual

40% women use emergency room for Domestic Violence

Religion and Culture: Resources or roadblocks to end domestic violence?

  • Protective factors
  • Toxic/damaging factors

Traditional Pastoral response to Domestic Violence:

  • Clergy as victim�s first point of contact
  • Sensitive/compassionate response
  • Well intentioned but uninformed
  • NIMP (Not in my parish)

Effective Pastoral Response:

  • Message of zero tolerance
  • Holding abuser accountable
  • Restitution/ amends
  • Reunification only if safety assured
  • Termination of marriage (mourning the loss)
  • The divorce did not kill the marriage, the violence did (Broken vows, CPSDV)

Paulo Freire

Theology of Liberation: a leadership and empowerment model

  • Name the problem
  • Group work: breaking the culture of silence
  • Critical consciousness
  • Reflective action (�praxis�)
  • Hope and confidence
  • Empowerment

Pedagogy of the Oppressed and Pedagogy of Hope by Paulo Freire

Survivors as leaders: women helping women organize

  • Membership role
  • Giving back to the community
  • New phase in their healing process
  • Validation as self as �survivor� vs. �victim�
  • Power based on experience not on authority and control

 

Judith R. Gonzalez:

Some factors:

  • A quarter to one half of women have suffered violence from an intimate partner
  • One of every four women reports that they have been physically abused by a husband or boyfriend at some point in their lives.
  • Child abuse occurs in 77% of families where there is abuse of adults
  • Women�s age range 13-44 years, average 25.3 years
  • Children�s age range 0-18 years, average 1.9 years
  • In terms of gender, it is women who are most likely to be perpetrators of family violence