Ending a Painful Silence on Abuse

One development worth applauding in recent years has been a public discussion of domestic abuse, accompanied by a willingness to treat the problem with the seriousness it deserves.

Orange County has four shelters for battered women. Counselors say they would like to see immigrant spouses become as willing to avail themselves of the shelters’ services as their native-born counterparts.

The shelters have done a good job in reaching out to women who need their services in one of the most basic of ways: providing someone who can speak their language.

All four shelters have staff fluent in Spanish as well as English. They also can call on workers knowledgeable in Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese and Cambodian, among other languages.

It is also important to realize the reluctance of many women born elsewhere to seek help no matter how bad their situation at home. Asian and Latino counselors at the shelters and at community organizations say their cultures have urged women to stay in a marriage no matter what, keep violence a secret and keep the family together.

The director of the Asian program at the Interval House shelter said during a radio discussion of domestic violence that the station was flooded with calls from men angry that a taboo subject was being discussed. But the next day, more than 100 women called for information.

Orange County courts also are referring husbands charged with abuse to nonprofit Latino and Vietnamese groups that offer counseling, including the important information that, whatever the case in their native countries, in the United States domestic abuse is a crime. Last year the county prosecuted more than 4,000 cases of domestic abuse.

New immigrants can be isolated by their lack of English and dependent on their husbands for financial support. The cultural tradition of silence reinforces their reluctance to seek help. They may be wary of government workers and police if they come from countries were those civil servants usually are corrupt. But a continued program of education, informing women where to turn for assistance, can help break down the barriers and provide the assistance domestic abuse victims need and deserve.