Domestic violence affects those from all walks of life, and the organizations that help victims take care to accommodate them all.
“There are a lot of cultural nuances we have to keep in mind, and we will work accordingly,” said Devangi Raval of Manavi, a New Brunswick organization for South Asian women who are victims of violence.
Manavi offers many of the same services as mainstream facilities of its kind, but also addresses the linguistic and cultural needs of South Asian women. For example, collective identity is an issue in this population, according to Raval, meaning that individuals weigh decisions by considering how they would affect the family — including extended members — as a whole. This concept has implications for female victims of violence, she said.
In addition, the group does not believe in traditional counseling, but does offer peer counseling, she said.
Immigration issues are another important area that domestic violence professionals must address. Abusers often threaten their immigrant partners with deportation, according to Elaine Meyerson, executive director of Bergen Countybased Shelter Our Sisters.
“They use the immigration as a rationalization of why the women can’t leave,” she said. “And that’s not the case.”
The federal Violence Against Women Act helps provide immigration status for victims.
Manavi also assists those whose spouses have work visas, helping to make the women less dependent.
Hazlet-based 180 Turning Lives Around offers culturally sensitive counseling and translation services through its Shore Regional Outreach Program in Asbury Park.
Project SARAH (Stop Abusive Relationships At Home) is a state-sponsored domestic violence project that focuses on the needs of the Orthodox Jewish community.
Many shelters, including the one run by Shelter Our Sisters, offer kosher kits that provide 24 hours worth of kosher meals for Jewish or Muslim victims being housed there, according to Meyerson.
In some cultures, women feel they cannot leave the man, because he is considered the head of the household, Janet Lee of 180 said. She said counselors with her organization “start where they are” and take the necessary steps to ensure safety.
“Sometimes they believe that it’s their karma,” Raval said of South Asian women. “That’s where we do peer counseling and try to … make them understand that it’s not karma. It is what it is — abuse.”