Privileged Space; How the Domestic Violence Sheltering System is Failing Marginalized Women
Abstract:
Women’s domestic violence shelters offer a safe space for women who are victims of violence to live for a certain amount of time away from their abuser. Scholarly works on domestic violence shelters are increasing, however there is a lack of acknowledgment that the sheltering system does not work for Black women, Latinx immigrant women and Lesbian and Transgender women. The sheltering system was created over forty years ago and still operates under white and hetero normativity. White normativity in shelters is seen with the lack of support for black women, ranging from microaggression to being denied shelter. The lack of cultural and linguistic diversity in shelters creates more barriers for Latinx immigrant women who need services. The heteronormativity in shelters is evident in policies which reject shelter stay to transgender women and discriminate against lesbians during their shelter stay. This project places marginalized women at t he center of the sheltering system, analyze how and why the sheltering system has failed them and what needs to be done to fix a broken system.