Calls to Police and Police Response: A Case Study of Latina Immigrant Women in the USA
| Author | Leslye E. Orloff,Nawal H. Ammar,Giselle Aguilar-Hass,Mary Ann Dutton |
| Date | 01 December 2005 |
| DOI | 10.1350/ijps.2005.7.4.230 |
| Published date | 01 December 2005 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
Calls to police and police response: A
case study of Latina immigrant women in
the USA
Nawal H. Ammar†, Leslye E. Orloff‡, Mary Ann Dutton* and Giselle
Aguilar-Hass¥
†(Corresponding Author) Department of Justice Studies, 113 Bowman Hall, Kent State
University, Kent, Ohio, 44240, U.S.A. Tel: (330) 672 2775 ; Fax: (330) 672 5394; email:
nammar@kent.edu
‡Director, Immigrant Women Program, Legal Momentum, 1522 K St., NW, Suite 550,
Washington, DC 20005. Tel: (202) 326 0040; Fax: (202) 589 0511: email:
lorloff@legalmomentum.org
* Department of Psychiatry, Georgetown University Medical Center. 37th and O Street, NW
Washington, DC 20057, U.S.A.Tel: (202) 687 1997; Fax: (202) 687 0694; email:
mad27@georgetown.edu
¥Argosy University Washington DC. 1550 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 600, Arlington, VA 22209.
Tel: (703) 526 5833; Fax: (703) 243 9873; email: ghass@argosyu.edu
Received 13 June 2004, revised and accepted 5 March 2005.
Nawal Ammar is a Professor at Kent State
immigrant women and the nexus between
University, Ohio. She is a member of the National
domestic violence and immigration law.
Network To End Violence Against Immigrant
Mary Ann Dutton is a clinical psychologist who
Women. Dr Ammar also was one of seven
specialises in the area of intimate violence. Dr.
experts who drafted the United Nations Report
Dutton has published over 40 articles and book
on the Basic Principles of Restorative Justice in
chapters in both psychology and legal publica-
2001. The report was successfully voted on and
tions. As a research professor at Georgetown,
adopted by the UN Commission on Crime at the
her work has focused on domestic violence and
Twelfth Regular Session of the UN in Vienna,
low-income and minority women’s health
Austria, April 18 to 22, 2002.
issues.
Leslye E. Orloff is Associate Vice President and
Giselle Aguilar-Hass
teaches personality
Director of the Immigrant Women Program of
assessment, integrative assessment, and foren-
Legal Momentum in Washington, D.C. She is a
sic electives. She has extensive experience and
co-founder and co-chair of the National Network
training in forensic assessment of adults, juven-
To End Violence Against Immigrant Women and
ile and family issues. For the past 10 years she
is the Washington, D.C. spokesperson for that
has performed psychological evaluations for the
organisation. She has written local and national
courts of Fairfax, Arlington and Prince William
training curricula and manuals and is a trainer of
County in Virginia. She is also interested in
attorneys, victim advocates, police, judges, and
research and scholarly activities with these pop-
health professionals on domestic violence, cul-
ulations; particularly the issues of domestic
International Journal of Police
tural competency, family law, protection orders,
violence, trauma assessment, attachment and
Science and Management,
Vol. 7 No. 4, 2005, pp. 230–244.
the Violence Against Women’s Act’s immigration
its relation to parental maltreatment and
© Vathek Publishing,
1461–3557
provisions, the welfare rights of battered
neglect.
Page 230
Ammar et al.
ABSTRACT
law enforcement officials struggling to work
This paper addresses the experiences of battered
with immigrant victims of intimate partner
immigrant Latina women when contacting police
violence without seeming insensitive to the
for assistance in attempting to reduce, end or flee
other tragic losses and the prevailing sense
violence. The research consists of interviews with
of insecurity immigrant women face. It is,
230 battered immigrant Latina women experi-
however, precisely at times of challenge that
encing violence. The analysis examined the factors
we need to continue to focus on women,
contributing to the extent, frequency and readi-
especially those in the immigrant commu-
ness of the women to call the police. The police
nities who are victims of domestic
response to and the effect of seeking help by
violence.
battered immigrant Latina women on arrest of
Immigrant women do not encounter
the perpetrator were also explored. The results
intimate partner violence at a higher fre-
show that the number of times and the frequency
quency than other women (Ammar, 2000;
of contacting the police among battered immigrant
Orloff, Dutton, Aguilar-Hass & Ammar,
Latina women was far less than would be expec-
2003). However, they are at greater risk of
ted based on their experiences with intimate
longer exposure due to their inability to
partner violence. The factors which led women to
access culturally responsive services. The
call the police were mostly related to the stability
lack of culturally appropriate responses from
of their immigration status, their children’s expo-
the criminal justice system complicates the
sure to violence, the women’s region of origin and
plight of battered immigrant women even
the frequency of domestic violence. The police
further. Immigrant women encounter lan-
response to this group of women demonstrates a
guage barriers, cultural differences and ster-
lack of cultural sensitivity, and produces concerns
eotyping by the mainstream society which
regarding language accessibility and low rates of
often compromise their ability to end the
arrest. The paper concludes with recommenda-
violence (Abraham, 2000; DasGupta, 2000;
tions about the need to better incorporate immi-
Dutton et al. 1999; 2000; Raj & Silverman,
gration as an additional factor in understanding
2002). While there have been some
intimate partner violence and help-seeking from
attempts to remove the barriers that bat-
police. We propose more thorough diversity train-
tered immigrant women face, these
ing of police focusing particularly on immigrant
attempts have not been based on a system-
battered women; the availability of interpreters for
atic understanding of the experiences of the
such calls within the immigrant communities;
women themselves.
educating of the police about appropriate cultur-
This paper addresses the experiences of
ally based services available in their communities
battered immigrant Latina women when
and better understanding of immigration options
contacting police for assistance in attempt-
for battered immigrant women, including the
protections afforded by the Violence Against
ing to reduce, end or flee the violence.
Women Act.
Although the experiences of battered
immigrant Latina women may vary from
other immigrant women, the fact that they
INTRODUCTION
are the largest immigrant community in the
Most discussion of intimate partner vio-
US provides us with a solid base for an
lence and immigrants has become more
initial entry into understanding battered
difficult since the terrorist attacks of 11
immigrant women’s help seeking from law
September 2001 in the United States. The
enforcement.
priorities and concerns of the US as a
This paper analyses partial results from a
nation have left researchers, advocates and
large-scale research project undertaken by
Page 231
Calls to police and police response
Ayuda, Inc. between 1992 and 1995 which
reporting of non-citizen victims and wit-
was intended to assess the needs of immi-
nesses (Orloff et al., 2003; Orloff,
grant Latinas in the Washington DC metro-
Lwekowski & Little, 1999).
politan area. One of the primary objectives
These same problems of perception and
of this study was to investigate the barriers
stereotyping that affect and strain the rela-
that existed for battered immigrant Latinas
tionship between immigrants and police
who sought assistance through the justice
officers also affect and strain the relationship
system and other social services to help
between police officers and immigrant vic-
them end domestic violence.
tims of domestic violence. Stereotypical
attitudes from law enforcement harm
immigrant victims both because they are
POLICE INTERACTIONS WITH
immigrants and because they are women.
IMMIGRANT COMMUNITIES IN THE
Researchers have found that the patriarchal
UNITED STATES
occupational subculture of police officers or
Historically, the American legal and crimi-
departments often leads to individual atti-
tudes which tend to blame the victim,
nal justice systems have been blatantly dis-
project blame on other institutions, and
criminatory with regard to minority and
foster negative images of women as manip-
immigrant populations (Russell, 1998).
ulative individuals (Ammar, 2000; Wiist &
Today, despite reforms, law enforcement
MacFarlane, 1998). When victims are
involvement in minority communities in
immigrants, violence is often viewed by
the United States is replete with evidence of
officers as being a part of the immigrant
discrimination, differential treatment of
culture and the lives of immigrant women,
minorities, and brutality (Cole, 1999;
leading some police officers to conclude
Mann, 1993). Discriminatory practices by
that domestic violence is not a crime when
police officers have also extended to various
the victim is an immigrant (Dutton et al.,
immigrant populations who are too often
2000; Orloff et al., 2003; Rivera, 1994).
perceived by police as persons not legally
Domestic violence, especially when perpe-
residing in the United States and are more
trated upon a person of the same race or
crime prone. These assumptions, combined
ethnicity as the batterer, is not perceived as
with the fact that newer immigrants are
unusual within the immigrant communities
often people of colour and are living in
by law enforcement officials...
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