خطر دو برابر: زنان مهاجر، خشونت خانگی و رفاه عموم خدمات کودک در شهر نیویورک

This paper examines the experiences of Mexican immigrant mothers living in New York City who become involved with public child welfare services because of domestic violence and makes recommendations for evaluation of program services to immigrant mothers. A case study and the results of a focus group interview will be presented to illustrate the often conflicting cultural, social and political issues confronted by immigrant mothers as they negotiate the organization of services designed to address specific forms of domestic violence, i.e., the protection of children and the protection of women. Emergent themes point to the double risk faced by immigrant women—first at the hands of their partners and then by service providers who do not understand the cultural issues that surround domestic violence nor the implications that immigration status has for victims of abuse. After intervention, participants in this research study describe feeling both like ‘bad mothers’ who fail to protect their children and ‘bad women’ who turn family members over for deportation. Evaluation of services to immigrant mothers requires consideration not only of cultural and social issues that affect program outcomes but must also consider the larger implications that immigration status has on utilization of services by immigrant women. Immigrant women often face multiple risks when seeking help for family problems.

Immigration status, more than cultural issues or language barriers, is emerging as the most significant factor in determining how, or even if, domestic violence is addressed when it occurs in immigrant families. Immigrant women are doubly at risk – not only at the hands of their intimate partners, but they also risk multiple sanctions by the state should it intervene – these can range from the denial of services based on their status to separation from family members upon whom they depend economically to the loss of their children because they are perceived as having failed, as a parent, to adequately protect them. This paper examines the experiences of several Mexican immigrant mothers living in New York City who encountered state intervention into their lives in the form of public child welfare services. Their voices, as presented here, speak to the multiple and conflicting cultural, social and political issues that they confront as they negotiate the organization of services designed to address family violence. They also speak to the overall lack of awareness by most formal services providers of how immigration status impacts access to services for immigrant families and their children. What emerges is not only the need to understand how multiple identities affect individuals who interact with systems of care, but also the need to examine social policies through the lens of intersectionality, i.e., how do we resolve competing mandates in addressing highly complex and interrelated social problems? Nowhere is this more evident than in addressing violence within the family—one set of laws, mandates and services are designed to protect children; another to address the violence between partners. How do you protect children when there is violence between their parents? And how do you address violence between parents in the context of child welfare? And lastly, how do you address family violence when the political climate now demands that undocumented immigrants, once identified, be turned over to immigration authorities? Do we look for one answer or are there multiple solutions that are acceptable on a continuum of care framework that do not violate social norms or undermine our sense of social justice and equal protection? Recommendations examine the use of collaborative partnerships between public child welfare services and community-based organizations to address family violence and the emphasis on developing protocols and staff training. Evaluation of the effectiveness of such programs and protocols also requires taking into consideration the cultural and political considerations involved in domestic violence.