Minority Women and Domestic Violence: The Unique Dilemmas of Battered Women of Color

There is very little in the growing literature on domestic violence which addresses the special problems which racial, ethnic or cultural minority women might face in dealing with abuse from their partners. This paper examines and attempts to understand this gap in the research. It synthesizes the available information on abuse against women from a variety of minority groups, outlining some of the unique dilemmas faced by abused women of color and explaining why many of them may not be willing or able to make use of traditional helping agencies to escape their victimization.