User:Jillian.Tucker/sandbox

Intimate Personal Violence in the African American community by Lydia Rogers, Jillian Tucker, Destinee Hammonds and David Hamilton

Historical Background: Intimate Partner Violence in the African American community stems from the history of assault faced during slavery. From the time slaves were brought into this country they faced physical, sexual, and mental abuse. From being beaten and raped by the masters, women especially have faced partner violence.The historical trauma from slavery predominantly impacts women.The effects of IPV from slavery carried into generations of abuse in some African Americans relationships. IPV exists for many reasons. Historically, African American men are told not to express their emotions, which can lead to violent acts towards their partners. The history of mistrust between black people and the police also contributes to lack of cases reported.

Current Background: Our project centers around current Interpersonal Partner Violence within the African American community. The following information explains statistics reported on IPV within the African American community: 4/10 black women have experienced some sort of abuse and the leading cause of death for women was homicide against women. 64% of women have reported being raped, physically assaulted, or stalked by a partner. While uncommon, about 7% of men reported they have experienced some sort of IPV and out of 72 individuals, 38% said they experienced IPV in same-sex relationships. The statistics given represent cases on IPV that have been reported. Not all cases are reported. IPV can be influenced by substance abuse, learned behavior from previous relationships, low self-esteem, and lack of control in relationships. The lack of women reporting on the subject is usually due to the "strong black women" stereotype that women are more focused on their families as well as the fear of being killed or further abused by ones partner.