Domestic violence and diversity: a call for multucultural services

Domestic violence is a pervasive problem in virtually all countries, cultures, ethnic and racial groups, and social classes. A review of the literature indicates that in the vast scholarship on violence against women in intimate relationships, minimal attention has been given to experiences of ethnic minorities. Consequently, although there have been significant gains in providing criminal justice and social services initiatives to victims of domestic violence, many victims of intimate violence who are ethnic minorities underutilize the interventions and services available in part because their help-seeking behaviors differ from those of the dominant culture. As such, this paper provides an overview of some of the cultural barriers that may hinder the effectiveness as well as limit the amount of intervention and social services available for some of the most vulnerable victims of intimate violence. This paper concludes with recommendations that agencies as well as individual service providers can employ to increase their multicultural competency.