NCJ Number
223522
Journal
Violence Against Women Volume: 14 Issue: 7 Dated: July 2008 Pages: 833-843
Date Published
July 2008
Length
11 pages
Annotation
This study determined whether a woman's race/ethnicity influenced referrals to child protective services in domestic violence cases managed through a Minneapolis-based advocacy and therapy organization.
Abstract
The study found that the race or ethnicity of a female victim of domestic violence was not a significant factor in referring a child in the home to child protective services, after controlling for age, level of education, and income. The parents of children who were referred to child protective services tended to be younger, less educated, and poorer than the female domestic-violence victims whose children were not referred to child protective services. This study does not suggest that domestic violence is more prevalent in one race than another; rather, the authors argue that societal inequities make women of color more vulnerable to State intervention and to child welfare policies that rely too heavily on child removal from the home instead of family support. The study obtained intake records for all female victims of intimate partner violence (i.e., women who had disclosed that they had experienced one or more types of abusive behavior by their intimate partners, such as physical, emotional or verbal, psychological, financial, or sexual abuse). The cases examined were restricted to those processed from January 1, 2002, through December 31, 2003. The study focused on those women who reported having children. Data from the intake records addressed age, race/ethnicity, education, annual income, number of children, relationship status with partner, duration of relationship, occupation, history of alcohol or drug dependence, involvement of the legal system, types of abuse experienced, history of abuse in previous relationships, family history of physical abuse, and involvement of child protective services. 4 tables and 22 references