South Carolina study: domestic violence prevalent among Hispanics

Black Issues in Higher Education, May 5, 2005

COLUMBIA, S.C.

Some 70 percent of Hispanic women surveyed in South Carolina say they are victims of domestic violence, according to studies by researchers at the University of South Carolina.

It's a serious problem in South Carolina's growing Hispanic community. Recent census estimates reported more than 110,000 Hispanics in the state, but those who study the population think the actual numbers are three to four times higher.

USC college of nursing researchers Mary Boyd, Tena Hunt and Kathleen Scharer conducted a series of studies looking at the links between domestic violence, child and substance abuse, and the prevalence of domestic violence among Hispanics in the state.

Of the more than 300 Hispanic women across the state surveyed by Hunt, 70 percent reported experiencing domestic violence in the previous year. Of these, 43 percent reported multiple episodes of abuse during that time.

Many of the women said violence was triggered by the abuser's alcohol use, Hunt says.

The women also reported that socioeconomic factors--such as unemployment or concerns about jobs or money--led to abuse.

About three-fourths of the women did not report the abuse to their health care provider because they were embarrassed, could not speak English or were afraid of their abusers, says Hunt, a USC nursing clinical instructor.

The women also said they were afraid they would lose their children, or would be without money because the abuser was the breadwinner, Hunt says.

About a third of the women expressed fear of deportation, as 95 percent of the women surveyed were undocumented immigrants, she says.

Hunt found the women most needed help to understand what services are available to help them.

"They don't want shelters," Hunt says. "They want to learn English. They want transportation and legal help." Hunt says she hopes the research can be used to help develop programs in South Carolina to address the problem.

Irma Santana, former director of the statewide Hispanic Outreach, says word needs to be spread among Hispanic women that there are ways to get help.

"Women are not being educated. They have not been assimilated to the culture of the United States," Santana says. "Health providers should be educating the Hispanic community that domestic violence is not permissible, it's a crime here."