{"id":19594,"date":"2023-09-03T06:36:21","date_gmt":"2023-09-03T16:36:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/?p=19594"},"modified":"2023-09-14T12:48:57","modified_gmt":"2023-09-14T22:48:57","slug":"filipinos-make-up-30-of-hawaiis-domestic-violence-victims-hawaii-task-force-formed-to-help-filipinos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thefilipinochronicle.com\/backup\/2023\/09\/03\/filipinos-make-up-30-of-hawaiis-domestic-violence-victims-hawaii-task-force-formed-to-help-filipinos\/","title":{"rendered":"Filipinos Make Up 30% of Hawaii\u2019s Domestic Violence Victims, Hawaii Task Force Formed to Help Filipinos"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

by Edwin Quinabo<\/em>

<\/strong>Sadness, secrecy, and shame \u2013 this is how Conchita (anonymity requested), Kalihi, described her abusive relationship with her ex-husband that went from verbal and emotional humiliation then escalated to being punched, having her hair yanked, going to the hospital after a beating, and once threatened to be pushed out of a moving car.

<\/strong>Conchita told the Filipino Chronicle, \u201cI am a domestic abuse survivor and want to help others by telling my story. It\u2019s very hard to get out of an abusive situation because once you\u2019re in love and want to keep a family intact, and you don\u2019t have financial independence, you feel trapped and stay put. This is what happened to me. It\u2019s sad because I tried to be optimistic hoping that my abuser would change. I did everything I could to make our marriage work, but the situation didn\u2019t\u2019 improve. In fact, it only worsened in the eight years we were together.\u201d Chit said they even tried separating for one year. But when they got back together, the same problems resurfaced.

<\/strong>Conchita, a Filipina, is among many in the Filipino community who\u2019ve experienced domestic abuse or Intimate Partner Violence (IPV).

<\/strong>According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Asian and Pacific Islander communities experience domestic violence at much higher rates than the general population.

Filipinos Overrepresented in Domestic Abuse in Hawaii
<\/strong>Filipinos and part-Filipinos, who represent approximately 25% of Hawaii\u2019s population, constitute 30% of reported victims of domestic abuse in the state, an overrepresentation as domestic violence victims in Hawaii, according to the Domestic Violence Action Center (DVAC).

<\/strong>The number of victims could be even higher because Filipinos tend not to report domestic abuse, said Cristina Arias with the Domestic Violence Action Center (DVAC).

<\/strong>Thirteen percent of the general adult population in Hawaii report experiencing IPV or domestic abuse at some point in their lives with estimates higher in females (15.8%) than males (10.2%). Those who are White, Native Hawaiian, and Other in the general adult population were more likely to report experiencing IPV than those who identify as Japanese, Filipino, or Chinese, experts say.

Filipinos have highest fatalities in domestic violence
<\/strong>Filipino women are also more likely to be fatal victims of domestic abuse compared to Native Hawaiian and Japanese women relative to proportions in the population, according to the DVAC.

<\/strong>Hawaii State Department of Health\u2019s Office of Health Status Monitoring 2000-2009 data shows Filipinos with the highest fatalities in domestic violence at 24.2%. The majority of perpetrators were Filipino (22%), followed by Europeans\/Whites, other ethnic groups, those with multiple ethnicities (17% each) and Japanese (16%).

<\/strong>During the height of the pandemic in 2020, reports of domestic violence spiked and continued into 2021. Experts say while the State recovers from the economic effects of the pandemic, the number of reported domestic violence cases in Hawaii is expected to continue growing.

Formal Task Force to End the Invisibility and Abuse of Filipino Women
<\/strong>In 2022 in response to this growing public health concern, the Hawaii State Legislature\u2019s Filipino Caucus \u2013 Sens San Buenaventura, Dela Cruz, Fevella, Gabbard, Keith-Agaran, Kim, Misalucha, Rhoads, Rivere, Wakai \u2013 introduced SCR 133 that would create a Formal Task Force to End the Invisibility and Abuse of Filipino Women. It urges the State Commission on the Status of Women to work with the DVAC, Filipino Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii to develop and implement an outreach program aimed at informing domestic violence victims of available resources for assistance. The program is meant to develop Filipino-specific outreach to end domestic violence. SCR 133 passed both the House and Senate and was adopted on May 5, 2022.

<\/strong>Amy Agbayani, co-chair of the Hawaii Friends of Civil Rights testified in support of SCR 133. \u201cImmigrant women often feel trapped in abusive relationships because of immigration laws, language barriers, social isolation, and lack of financial resources. Abusers often use their partners\u2019 immigration status as a tool of control. In such situations, it is common for a batterer to exert control over his partner\u2019s immigration status to force her to remain in the relationship. Additionally, many immigrant victims may believe that the protections of the U.S. legal system do not apply to them and that domestic violence services are not available to them,\u201d she said in her testimony.

<\/strong>Agbayani emphasized the importance of multilanguage information on getting help to be made available to victims and the need to restore state-wide training for community health care providers, community-based organizations, state and local government workers.

Filipino society often tolerates moments of violence
<\/strong>Khara Jabola-Carolus, Executive Director, the Hawai\u02bbi State Commission on the Status of Women, cited results from Hawaii Domestic Violence Fatality Review 2000-2009 in her testimony supporting SCR 133. \u201cIt is possible that tolerance for domestic violence is influenced by socio-cultural factors and length of immigration and acculturation. Personalism, smooth interpersonal relationships, and hierarchical structures are safety lids for the Philippine society.

<\/strong>\u201cFilipinos are both friendly and tolerant, but the society also tolerates moments of violence. To run amok is an understandable behavior if an individual has been wronged or provoked sufficiently. Crimes of passion abound, and revenge is, in Philippine terms, often an acceptable explanation of criminal behavior. Temporary, explosive anger at a personal affront is a way Filipinos expresses existential rage.\u201d

Mainland studies also show overrepresentation of Filipinos in domestic abuse
<\/strong>The Hawaii Domestic Violence Fatality Review\u2019s finding that socio-cultural factors could have an influence in domestic abuse could explain why studies in select mainland studies also show overrepresentation of Filipinos as victims of domestic abuse.

<\/strong>In a face-to-face interview of 1,577 Asians from Asian organizations and gathering places in Houston, TX, in Texas, researchers found 22% of Filipino respondents (101 male and female) reported at least one form of intimate partner violence based on the 8-item Conflict Tactics Scale, ranging from \u201cthrown objects at the respondent\u201d to \u201cused a knife or gun on the respondent\u201d during the previous year.

<\/strong>That rate was higher than abuse rates among all other Asians \u2013 Chinese (10%), Indian (20%), Japanese (10%), Korean (20%), and Vietnamese (22%) respondents.

<\/strong>In a San Francisco Bay Area study on Lifecourse Experiences of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) which assessed types of IPV among 87 Filipina victims aged 18-60 who were recruited via various community outreach methods, researchers found:

<\/strong>*95% of Filipina victims reported having experienced physical violence by an intimate partner
<\/strong>*56% of Filipina victims reported having experienced sexual violence by an intimate partner
<\/strong>*68% of Filipina victims reported having experienced stalking by an intimate partner.
<\/strong>*By age 16, 12% of Filipina victims had experienced physical violence, 10% had experienced sexual violence, and 8% had experienced stalking.

<\/strong>In the same study 52% of Filipina abused women had called the police at least once, 25% had used domestic violence shelters at least once, 31% had used non-residential domestic violence programs at least once, 25% has used residential domestic violence programs at least once, 44% had sought legal assistance at least once, and 28% had sought healthcare related to IPV at least once.

<\/strong>*The police have been found to be an important gateway to services. If respondents contacted both a domestic violence program and the police, they were more likely to have contacted the police first. Similarly, if respondents reached out to both the police and legal service programs, a majority of them reached out to the police first.

Conchita\u2019s abusive relationship
<\/strong>Now 52, Conchita is grateful that she escaped from her abuser. She explained how it all started. When she was seven months pregnant with her daughter, her daughter\u2019s father left her. She gave birth and started life as a single mother at 24 years old. She was still young and wanted to have a family, a father to help raise her daughter.

<\/strong>\u201cPeople would tell me; you can get someone from the Philippines. He will appreciate you for bringing him to the U.S. I was open to the idea. I met my ex-husband Simeon (real name withheld) through his uncle in 1996. Simeon lived in the Philippines, and we became pen pals. My family didn\u2019t approve of this relationship, so I stopped communicating with him.

<\/strong>\u201cIn 2005, I reconnected with the family of Simeon who they said was still single. I thought almost 10 years had passed and he\u2019s still single. Maybe it\u2019s my destiny to be with him. My family still didn\u2019t approve of him. There were rumors that Simeon was a gambler and alcoholic. But my uncle in Ilocos, Philippines, knew Simeon\u2019s family there and my uncle said he was a good person. This time, I pursued him, and we fell in love.\u201d

Early red flags
<\/strong>Conchita said when he first arrived, he was good. \u201cBut after I married him, I discovered the rumors of him were true \u2013 he was an alcoholic and gambler. The verbal abuse started. He would say: \u2018You\u2019re wasting my time here\u2019 because I told him that he had to wait to get his working visa. He then found work \u2018under the table\u2019 and couldn\u2019t wait.\u201d

<\/strong>When he started to make money, Conchita said he would always refer to the money he made as \u201chis money\u201d and not \u201cour\u201d money. He started to gamble in Kalihi and Waipahu. She said money was always a root cause of their arguments.

<\/strong>To complete the process to become a permanent resident there is a two-year probation period. \u201cI wanted to get a divorce at that time, but my family was concerned about immigration problems. So, I didn\u2019t pursue it. At the time, he would verbally abuse me, but not physically,\u201d Conchita said.

<\/strong>\u201cNow the gambling got worse, and he started to hide money from me. We were living with my parents, but there was an incident when Simeon and my father got into an argument. The police were involved, and we had to move out. That is when physical abuse started, when we were living alone together. That is also when he didn\u2019t want to be bothered about where he would go, how he would spend his money. Besides gambling, he also would send money to the Philippines without talking to me about it. He started to go to the Philippines on vacation by himself without inviting me. I had no say in the matter,\u201d Conchita said.

<\/strong>\u201cWhen we\u2019d argue he started to throw things at me, anything he could grab near him. His swearing got worse. Sometimes he wouldn\u2019t help me to pay bills and ask me for money. At times, I would tell my friends to loan him money, but I would be the one to pay my friends back. When he saw his friends in public while we were together, he wouldn\u2019t introduce me to them as his wife.\u201d

Breaking point
<\/strong>A day before one of his solo trips to the Philippines, Simeon was asking me for money. I told him I didn\u2019t have any then he started to beat me up for money. We were in the car at the time on the way to buy things for his trip. His friend was in the backseat. He was punching me in my head. He wanted to kick me out of the car in the middle of the road, not even concerned about my safety. I was scared that he was going to push me out of the car while he was driving,\u201d Conchita said.

<\/strong>We arrived at a gas station and while Simeon was pumping gas, I asked his friend, \u2018Manong, how can you watch him beat me and not do anything?\u2019 Simeon overheard my question. Then he reached in the car and yanked on my hair, yelling at me to stop.\u201d

<\/strong>When Simeon and his friend got out of the car, I had a chance to call my friend for help. She told me to get out of the car now and that she would pick me up. Already far away from the car, I happened to run into Simeon\u2019s niece while walking. I told her to bring me to Simeon\u2019s family so they could see what he did to me. They were ashamed of his behavior. My friend picked me up there. We went straight to the hospital. There the police and a social worker helped me.\u201d Conchita said.

<\/strong>The police escorted Conchita back home and Simeon was arrested.

<\/strong>Two cases were brought against him. He pleaded guilty at the court and the judge sentenced him to three days in jail (maximum for first-time offense) and ordered him to get help with anger management.

\u201cI filed a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) and social workers helped me to initiate a divorce.\u201d

Hawaii State Law on Domestic Abuse
<\/strong>Physical abuse of a family or household member is a misdemeanor. A first offense is punished by a minimum of 48 hours in jail. A defendant who commits a second domestic abuse offense within a year of being convicted for the first offense must serve a minimum of 30 days in jail.

If the offense involves strangulation or impeding the victim’s blood flow, the offense is a\u00a0Class C felony<\/a>. Class C felonies may be punished by up to five years in prison.

Violation of a Domestic Abuse Protective Order
<\/strong>A person who intentionally violates a protective order is\u00a0guilty of a misdemeanor<\/a>\u00a0and must participate in a domestic violence intervention program. If the defendant violates the protective order in a violent manner, the defendant must serve a minimum of 48 hours in jail and may be fined up to $500. For a second conviction for violating the same protective order in a violent manner, the defendant must serve a mandatory minimum of 30 days in jail and pay up to a $1,000 fine.

Signs of Domestic Violence
<\/strong>Experts say the key to breaking the cycle of domestic abuse is education, to know the warning signs of abuse. The Institute of Human Services (HIS) provided habits to look for:

<\/strong>*Belittling you and your interests
\u201cYou can never do anything right!\u201d\u00a0or\u00a0\u201cWhy do you like ___? That\u2019s dumb.\u201d)

<\/strong>*Blaming you and never apologizing for their bad behavior
\u201cIt\u2019s not my fault, you made me\u2026\u201d

<\/strong>*Limiting your time with friends, family, or peers
\u201cYou\u2019re not allowed to see\/hang out with ____.\u201d

<\/strong>*Controlling your finances, resources, or time
\u201cGive me your credit card. You can\u2019t use it unless you ask me first.\u201d

<\/strong>*Extreme jealousy of your time, friends, or attention
\u201cYou laugh a lot with your friends. Why don\u2019t you laugh at my jokes like that?\u201d

<\/strong>*Destroying property or surroundings; harming you or themself\u00a0
\u201cI\u2019m doing this because I love you.\u201d

<\/strong>*Intimidating you with threats, weapons, destruction, harm to others
\u201cDo [this] now! Or else I will _____!\u201d

<\/strong>*Pressuring to consume alcohol or drugs or conduct sexual acts
\u201cYou need to do ____ if you love me.\u201d

Where to get help
<\/strong>If you are a victim of abuse, here are some local and national resources:

<\/strong>State-Wide:\u00a0Aloha United Way (AUW) Helpline: 2-1-1

<\/strong>Oahu:\u00a0
\u2013 Parents and Children Together (PACT): 24-Hour Crisis Hotline: (808) 526-2200

<\/strong>Kauai:\u00a0YWCA of Kauai
\u2013 24-Hour Crisis Hotline: (808) 245-6362
\u2013 SA 24-Hour Crisis Hotline: (808) 245-2144

<\/strong>Maui & Lanai:\u00a0Women Helping Women 24-Hour Crisis Hotline: (808) 579-9581
<\/strong>Molokai:\u00a0Molokai Community Service Council 24-Hour Hotline: (808) 567-6888
<\/strong>Hawaii Island:\u00a0Hale Ohana Shelter: (808) 959-8864\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0

<\/strong>-National Domestic Violence Hotline:\u00a0 1-800-799-SAFE (1-800-799-7233), 24\/7, Languages: English, Spanish and 200+ through interpretation service\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0
<\/strong>-RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network):\u00a0800-656-HOPE (800-656-4673)
<\/strong>– The Hawaii Immigrant Justice Center provides free legal services to immigrant victims of domestic violence, including undocumented immigrants: (808)536-8826.

Advice from a domestic abuse survivor
<\/strong>Conchita recalls agonizing not only over the abuse, but that she had to keep it a secret until the very end.\u00a0 \u201cI kept everything to myself because you don\u2019t want your family and friends to judge you or for them to worry about you. I also felt shame because my parents didn\u2019t approve of my ex before we got married. But I went on with it, anyway. They were right.\u201d

<\/strong>She said, \u201cI felt alone. I could only talk to God about this problem.\u00a0 I remember one day while praying, I realized my marriage could not work anymore.\u201d Conchita said, her voice cracking as she broke into tears. \u201cThis is not good anymore. I said to God. I kept repeating, this is not good anymore.\u201d

<\/strong>Conchita said prayers helped her and could help victims, especially if you are feeling alone and can\u2019t talk to anyone about the situation.

<\/strong>\u201cYou must find a way to get out of an abusive relationship before it\u2019s too late. You know the situation and what you need to do,\u201d she said.


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