December 2018 Newsletter

Sexual Assault 7.3

Westy Egmont, Director IIL

Immigrant women and children are particularly vulnerable to sexual assault, and the provider community plays a vital role in protection, education, and intervention. Fear of authorities and increasingly harsh treatment by ICE and police add complexity to issues of language and ignorance of the laws.

Amnesty International reports that over 60% of women migrating north from Central America at the beginning of this decade were assaulted. Another study that looks at the broader issue of harassment and violence by Reveal, a publication of the Center for Investigative Reporting, summarizes one study of 150 female farmworkers where 24% reported sexual coercion by a supervisor. The Southern Poverty Law Center has been addressing this for years. Sadly, the government is part of the problem. The New York Times covered abuse in the youth detention facilities by two staff, and with the US government now holding 14,000 children, there is widespread concern about vetting staff fully.

All who suffer from sexual assault experience pain and trauma. Is the immigrant perspective different? Most evident is the legal context. This month thirty former state and federal judges have called for courthouses to be “sensitive locations” where ICE will generally not go. This safe policy has been in effect for the last 25 years—having only recently been reversed. Judges report that arrests by ICE in or at courthouses have impacted survivors of domestic violence, child protection cases, and even human trafficking. ICE justifies their actions based on some agencies being “unwilling…to cooperate in enforcement.”

Given that most victims know their assailants, the problem expands into complex dependencies and a fear of consequences for children and even relatives in the homeland if there is gang involvement. The provision of safe, protective environments addresses immediate needs, but a real or perceived sense of threat to survival often complicates interventions. Cases in which the victim is told they will be deported if they report the crime are common.

A colleague from Somalia shares that, when accompanying a woman to a hearing, she found the male defendant accompanied by a score of fellow Somali who judged the victim as overreacting to the violence--the violence they perceived as culturally familiar. Community mores and victim blaming can stifle action, limiting needed support for those who seek the protection of the court and whose fear of isolation is real intimidation.

Immigration protection is afforded to many of those who come forward, but research amply shows only a low percentage of those who turn to professionals for assistance. The New York Times chronicles the decline of reporting of abuse, down 40% in Houston for example. This is not due to a decline in assaults because of #MeToo awareness by perpetrators. Rather, there is fear that the protection desired from stepping forward will not be offered, and will result in another form of abuse leading to deportation. Few academic studies have examined the consequences experienced by immigrant victims and the options they are given. Even in Know Your Rights work, few resources have been created to reach minority language groups to educate and direct them to safe providers.

This subject also impacts male victims, including many young boys, with male rape in the immigrant community accompanied with additional layers of shame and silence. Specific research is again scarce, but the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey is a sound starting point. ‘Unwanted sexual contact, violence, penetration’ are terms reflecting levels, casually amalgamated in statistics, but in this time, they warrant clarity of definition to understand prevalence rates, consequences, and interventions.

Whether it be an event or a prolonged experience of abuse by an individual, a cartel or a government, oppression is rampant and humane care is too seldom found. As service providers, we must ask ourselves what role we can play to integrate immigrant survivors of sexual assault. VAWA, in materials available through the National Immigrant Women’s Advocacy Project, focuses on the critical role of SART teams. Breaking Barriers is a comprehensive tool that provides information that will be useful to advocates, attorneys, justice and social services professionals in working with and assisting immigrant survivors of domestic and family violence.

The provisions of VAWA, education of court officers, increased justice and expanded general support of those abused are improving the options for immigrants. Among the myriad of issues still begging for further attention is action within the faith community to address the rights and value of all persons. In cosmopolitan cities like Boston, imams, pastors, and priests have attended training events to understand the high risks and their potential roles. Intervention strategies by groups such as the Peaceful Families Project call for training and active roles by faith leaders.

Linguistic minorities face enormous problems. Often they do not read the educational information available, so lack of knowledge about services is high even if the right to receive help would be a reasonable expectation. Even good service providers lack the multi-lingual staff to provide critical assistance at first contact or in group settings. As simple a step as having pre-taped information on phone lines with linguistic options about what to do can be lifesaving. Shield of Athena in Montreal is an outstanding example of providing phone access and multilingual staffing. For English speakers, the notable hotline, created in 1994, is the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800-656-HOPE and online.rainn.org) which has helped more than 2 million people affected by sexual violence.

The exemplary agency this month is Tahirih, the only national organization (located in five cities) that addresses the issue with a broad range of direct legal services, policy advocacy, and training and education to protect immigrant women and girls fleeing gender-based violence.

Given the IIL’s commitment to immigrant integration, those hurt while trying to build a new life, those most at risk of being left behind, and those left outside current human services are a particular priority. It falls to each community, to networks of providers, immigrant rights groups, funders, and survivors, to organize appropriate services and ensure the presence and information distributed by those working with compassion, skill and the necessary knowledge of immigrant barriers and particular legal needs. This will advance the protection and care of those coping with the betrayal of trust, values, and decency in crimes of assault.