Juvenile Delinquency

Juvenile Delinquency is a social issue that is hard to measure due to its complex nature. Often boys and girls are treated and judged differently in the legal system. The article by Hoyt and Scherer highlights the various factors contributing to female juvenile delinquents. Structural Functionalism focuses on how different social institutions interact and affect one another. The article highlights numerous social institutions such as family, peers and school and exemplifies how each group affects each other. According to structural functionalism juvenile delinquency is a product of mis-guided social institutions.

Female delinquency often occurs when they are in situations of mental, physical and sexually abuse generally occurring in the home. Many times women will leave their homes to escape abuse often being forced into situations of theft or sexual exploitation. Family influence highly affects women, if they lack proper authority, attention or moral guidance then children will be more apt to situations of delinquency. Also if their parents commit crime they will be more likely to repeat those crimes. I found it interesting that peer association often leads girls away from delinquency. Women often congregate in homes or private settings and do not form gangs without male influence very often. Even the women's movement has been linked to an increase in women crime rates. By liberating women they began to deconstruct gender norms and larger numbers participated in crime.

For some reason though women are treated more leniently then their male counterparts. Female's are often viewed as submissive and cooperative and are given fairer punishments. There need to be studies cross=examining gender roles to see if there really are differences in attitudes between male and female delinquents. By eliminating gender bias there will be a more efficient and effective method for intervening in juvenile delinquency.

Female Delinquency

Since I was young I was told that having a baby girl is always hard because female are suppose to be quiet, obey, stay out of trouble,… therefore it’s difficult for parents to have a female in the family because they (parents) have to keep an eye on her, while a male child requires less supervision. Our society has been considering female like angels and this gives an excuse to these female for bad acts. For example if a female runs away from home people may think that she has been abused by family members or that she is not getting enough attention. If she steals money people may say that she needs it to satisfy her needs. If a male runs away from home or steals money, people say that he went to join bad friends and can be more likely convicted for criminal charges than a female .

A male can be walking on the street in the middle of the night because he is believed to be strong enough and can defend himself in case he is attacked, but POOR FEMALE are encouraged not to do so because people can take advantage of their weakness and harm them, therefore we always feel sorry for them and have excuse for their bad acts. We can even see this from small kids who mostly run to their mums for protection because these kids believe that mums are hamble and nice.

In my country of Rwanda there are some people who are being charged for the crime of genocide, but whenever people hear that a woman is among those who are facing charges, it brings up many questions and discussions because many people don't believe that women are capable of such crimes. However, for us who are from that country we know that there are some women who participated in the genocide.

This is a result of Symbolic Interaction in which female have always been given a stereotype of being innocent, nice, victims, weak, ....Even in some working areas female are given easier jobs because they are known to be weak which is a disadvantage for strong female who can do hard job.

The Saints and The Roughnecks article

I have read the saints and the roughnecks article before for my Juvenile Delinquency class so I am very familiar with this particular article. While reading this article I thought it was very interesting. However, the saints and the roughnecks article mainly focuses on Male Juvenile Delinquency. Both groups are juvenile delinquents who commit deviant acts but the saints are viewed completely different by society as well as their own community and neighborhood. For example the saints have their own cars and access to transportation, and they know a smart method on how to get each other out of class without getting caught in which they are also being truant . Because they have access to a car they go to a different part of town to commit their deviant acts therefore, no one from their own town knows just how serious the extent the saints actions are for instance they drive really fast while intoxicated. Yet, on the other hand since the roughnecks do not have have access to a car they have to commit their deviant acts in their own neighborhood and community so they are always under the public's eye and their actions are more visible. the roghnecks commit less serious crimes compared to the saints and commit their deviant acts less often than the saints but yet the roughnecks are caught and taken in by the police more often they are labeled by their neighborhood and community as being delinquent and in the view of their public and the educational system they are seen as not going to go very far in life and that their future isn't looking to bright and will become criminal. Juvenile Delinquency for girls is not the same as Juvenile Delinquency for boys. In our Juvenile Delinquency class we learned that you have to acknowledge that working with girls is not the same as working with the boys. Delinquency in girls can occur because they need strong women role models and influences in their life and if that functional dynamic is lacking things become dysfunctional delinquency in girls can also occur to due to broken homes, violence, rape, abuse, and neglect. However, Delinquency in boys occurs mostly due to peer pressure and the influence of their peers can cause delinquency in the boys. Furthermore, I also saw Symbolic Interactionism being used the most within this article. Symbolic Interactionism looks for symbols and meanings within a social problem and this particualr article had alot to do with symbols and meanings.

Female Delinquency

Female delinquency has obviously increased over the years. The main cause though is still yet to be determined. People often look at these girls and say that they are bad kids and need to be punished for what they are doing. But many people forget that there are many underlying issues that could be playing a part in why these girls are acting the way they are. People blame things on the person instead of the society surrounding the person. If a girl has grown up in a single parent home she is more likely to be more poor because of less income brought in. She will not have both a motherly influence or a fatherly influence and whichever one she has will be very mininmal because they are working to support her physically instead of being able to emotionally. Or she could be living in circumstances which put her in danger or she doesn't really have a good example to follow. The family has a big influence on how a girl will control her surroundings. Deinquent children more often than not come from poor areas. In Salt Lake these poor areas are very distinct. These poor areas are not surprisingly filled with more single parent homes, more drugs, more lower working class families, more crime, more failing education systems, etc. So if a child is not recieving the emotional family support they need, access to other forms of support are easy because there are other children doing through the same thing nearby. These forms of social systems turn into gangs which act out in ways that the law watches for. And they are sent into institution which might often treat the symptoms instead of the actuall cause of why these girls are acting out the way they are. They are good girls, just in a bad environment.

Juvenile Delinquency

Female juvenile delinquency is still a mystery. After all these centuries and theories, we still can't seem to figure out why females are delinquent. Is it because some are sexual deviants, sexually abused, mimicking boys bad behavior, finding equal opportunity in criminal pursuits, treated differently by the criminal justice system? What is it? Hmmm, why so mysterious?

I am going to suggest that it does not really matter why females are delinquent, just that some of them are...same as boys...some of them are delinquent... no matter what society does or does not do; no matter what social systems we put in place to divert behavior, treat criminals, punish them, etc. Some people are simply bad and will behave badly; male & female. This will always be the case. But what about the others that are not really bad people, but are just making bad decisions based on their circumstances or lack of resources? Let's help these kids.

How do we do it? We put systems in place to give these kids options, direction, supervision, hope. For example, what about having a local Boys & Girls Club that kids can attend with a great program and kids their own ages? This would give them a sense of belonging and a place to spend some of their time...time that might otherwise be spent in deviant behavior due to lack or supervision, lack of a place to go, or lack of belonging.

The boys & girls club or similar programs are just one way that we can help these kids. I'm just talking about the good kids that make some mistakes. I completely believe that some people simply cannot be helped. They are just genetically encoded with the BAD behavior gene and there is nothing we can do except catch them and punish or incarcerate them when they are caught.

Response to Campbell's Article

Campbell’s article about research on rape was very interesting, particularly when applying Symbolic Interaction, Functionalism, and Conflict Theory.

In this article, we can the Symbolic Interaction perspective with the idea of “good” versus “bad” victims. A good victim is one who is open to discuss and retrace what happened, she’s open to crying and letting emotion out, as well as accepting the help that is offered to her. A bad victim may be a little different. She may feel ashamed or embarrassed, she may be fearful and scared or she may just be in denial. In these cases, a victim is difficult to offer help to because she usually rejects the counseling.

Next is Functionalism. Functionalism is easily visible and understandable in institutional and societal ways. If a victim believes the society/community will blame her, shame her, or even pitty her, she may be less inclined to expose her story. Also, the biases in a community or institution can affect the victim and her response to the process of healing.

Lastly is Conflict Theory, which is a very dominant perspective in Campbell’s article. Campbell found that court cases with rapes of white men and colored women, the court is taken less seriously and are often left unfinished. Whereas for example, if a man of color and a woman of color were in the same scenario, the court may handle the case differently.

Campbell's article

Campbell’s article is very interesting, victims of rape face a lot challenges and Campbell describes perfectly what they go through. As a victim of domestic violence and sexual assault advocate, I can see this happened a lot. Rape victims are traumatizing with what they had experience. It is difficult for them to remember everything because is painful for them or they feel ashamed. I remember the first time I needed to advocate a victim of rape, it was not easy because she needed to talk with two police officers, I was shock of what I was hearing, an 18 year old girl was been rape since she was about 10 years old, and she couldn’t tell anybody because of her religion, she knew what she was experiencing wasn’t right but at the same time she didn’t know where to go but after talking with an advocate like Campbell explained she was more likely to do the report.

For those victims that need to get to the emergency room is so traumatic, they need to go through a very tedious examination. As an advocates we can be there but we have to be careful to get close to the victims, otherwise we can contaminate and the test can have different results. I haven’t experience an examination after a victim had been rape but I had received training on that. Campbell mentions about rape survivors and how it can be to go through the medical system.

The other process that they face an in which I’m more familiar is with the legal system, so far our victims feel comfortable with advocates in their side, specially because most of them don’t understand how the legal system works. I have see victims that the more you explain a legal process the less they can understand.

Talking with victims after their medical and legal process they just remember that a victim advocate was there for them. They forget a lot detail of their process while we learn more about some cases; they just feel that at least somebody was there to support them.

Response to Campbell's Article.

Just like other violence against refugee women, rape has been ignored by their rapists or other people who are suppose to defend those women especially with the fact that many rape victims don’t report it either because it’s embarrassing, no one will believe them or it can break up the marriage.

The most dangerous period for refugee women is when they are on the move alone with their children leaving husbands behind. Without a designated place to settle, women and children are scared, especially at night and end up by being with bad groups of people including rapists. After being raped some women get infected with sexual diseases like Aids which will finally kill them and since many refuges don’t believe in counselling (they think it’s a waist of time talking to someone about your problem and all he does is just listen to you).

Sometimes poverty also makes parents have their kids raped and the rapist would pay money to the parents who use it to feed the family and these parents expect the raped child to understand why they (parents) did what they did. Men also rape their own wives, but in this case people don’t take it as rape because they believe that a man should have sexual relationship with his wife whenever he wants as long as they are still married either she wants it or not.

I found all the three social theories when it comes to rape among refugee women:
Symbolic Interaction: Some people from refugee population believe that it’s culturally a man’s right to do whatever he wants with his wife and that’s why men pay bridal price to the woman’s parents. This violence is encouraged by women not reporting it due to being afraid of what may happen.
Conflict Theory: Men feeling more powerful than women and rape can be used as a sign of manipulation.
Functionalism Theory: Religion and family make women afraid of being embarrassed or losing the family for reporting rape.

Rape, Campbell

Campbell's study about rape and how certain systems respond to rape confirmed to me that we have adequate systems in place to handle this dilemma. The systems addressed were medical, legal and mental health systems. It seems that in the past, theses entities have not always worked methodically together, and they still might not if it were not for rape advocates and rape recovery centers that have specifically trained individuals to coordinate all 3 systems for the victim.

The article discussed the satisfaction of the victims with regard to how each of the 3 systems helped them or provided services. For the most part, greater than 70% of the victims were satisfied. In any situation, there will be some people that are not satisfied with results or systems, but I thought that an overwhelmingly high percentage of victims was satisfied.

Rape is a terrible crime and experience for the victim. It appears that while our society cannot control or prevent rape, at least it has systems in place to take care of the victims at present.

Rape prevention and punishment is an entirely different social issue. It has to do with the perpetrators and the aggressors and not necessarily the treatment of the victims after the rape.

There are many reasons why rape continues in today's society. I for one, believe that we are keeping men empowered over women by our society allowing rape to occur and to keep women in their place. This continues to be re-affirmed and rewarded by how our media display women as victims and sex slaves, and also how the legal system does not adequately punish perpetrators for raping women.

Because we choose not to address the larger issues, we must deal with the rape victims through the systems we have in place. This is exactly what society is doing, hence the Campbell article and study.

Domestic Violence

In Rivera's article, I saw examples of Symbolic Interactionism, Functionalism, and Conflict Theory. When dealing with domestic violence situations, Latina women tend to look at what they're going through as normal so their perceptions causes them to just deal with their situation and to put up with everything. Religion plays a big role. Since, divorce is looked down upon in many religions, women put up with what they're dealing with to maintain their relationship or their marriage. Latina women also go through institutional barriers and the lack of understanding the legal system. This brings up the conflict of the language barrier. Not being able to speak English puts Latinas at a disadvantage because it's harder for them to communicate their problem but also to find resources or information about where they can go to get help. Their race is also a big factor. No matter what, race will always matter because it leads to different treatment and different perceptions.

Campbell's Response To Rape

While reading Campbell's response to rape article it made me think of my other sociology class as well. We also spoke about these issues in my other class as well and while reading this article I realized that I can apply these same issues to my service learning project. For instance in my Juvenile Delinquency class we learned that female delinquents need a strong role model in their life someone they can look up to however, this female role model can be their mother, stepmom, aunt, or even grandma because they provide a important and very specific structure and stability for a girl which is key and major for most girls, however, we also found out that if this important aspect is lacking in a girl's life then the dynamics begin to fall apart. A strong female role model in a girl's life means structure, stability, trust, comfort, it means they have someone to confide in, and protection. Therefore, if this dynamic is lacking and isn't constant and consistent it can lead to other things such as abuse, neglect, rape, lack of attention, which can then result in girl's running away from home which then can lead to young female prostitution. While reading this article it made me think about all of these things and how they can all be tied together. Furtheremore, when someone is unfortunately raped it has long term effects and can be psychologically damaging and extremely emotional for the victim as well as traumatizing. The victim is also fighting and struggling with this issue internally and deep down within themself they are fighting a constant battle. Once a person is raped it also results in the breakdown of an individual's character. I choose the symbolic interactionism theory for this particular article because they look for symbols and meaning within a social problem and I saw alot of that with this particular article.

Homophobia in Society

I recently read an article for my gender studies class called "How Homophobia Hurts Everyone." As I was reading this, I was able to put some of the sociological perspectives with what this article was saying. The author of this article states that homophobia works of four distinct but interacting levels, which are:
1. Personal: This is where people hold their own personal beliefs or prejudice about LGBTs (lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transexuals) that they should be pitied, phychologically disturbed, hated, defective, or being inferior to homosexuals.
2. Interpersonal: This is where the personal prejudices affect relations among individuals by transforming prejudice into discrimination through name calling, violence, rejecting, etc.
3. Institutional: This is when governments, businesses, educational systems, religions, and professional organizations systimatically discriminate on the bases of sexual orientation through laws, codes, and policies.
4. Cultural: These are the social norms or codes of behavior that work within a society that legitimize oppression. For example, the media and history excluding images of LGBT people.
Conflict theory would look at this as LGBT people versus the rest of society. The "norms" in society are constantly oppressing LGBT people because they are seen as different, thus a threat to society. Many LGBTs struggle with getting health coverage or being accepted into many religions. The struggles they encounter are endless because society stigmatizes them as different. And when one group is being pushed down, the other one pushing them down is naturally benefiting from this by fitting into society and getting the jobs, health care, housing, and just generally accepted by most people.
This also can be looked at with symbolic interactionism. What part of our sociolization has created the labels of "fag", "butch", "queer", or the term "gay" as meaning stupid? LGBTs are seen as differing form the norm of society through the norms set by all social institutions. The main part of this article states why homophobia hurts not only LGBTs, but also heterosexuals as well. A couple interesting ones to point out are; it compromises the integrity of heterosexuals by pressuring them into treating others badly, which actions are contrary to their basic humanity. Another one he mentions is that homophobia restricts communications with a significant portion of the population and limits family relationships. It's interesting when looked at from this point of view because it puts negetive outcomes on both the opressed and the opressors.

Response to Campbells Response to Rape Article

Campbell's study on the Community Response to Rape seems to focus on the Symbolic Interactionism at work in the situation of rape. There was a huge emphasis on how rape victims interpreted their reality and how their advocates, the legal, medical and mental health systems interpreted the meanings behind the rape victims actions. The study found in interesting set of variables that affected the successful prosecution of the rapist, the likelihood of all health concerns being addressed for the rape victim, and the continued mental health support of the rape victim. If the victim exhibited "good victim" behavior they were more likely to receive the help they wanted. If they did not, then it seems that their advocates and the personnel in the institutions designed to help them didn't know how to interpret their actions so they would "back off" helping the rape victim. Unfortunately if a rape victim didn't react with the traditional crying and cooperative assent they didn't receive important information regarding the opportunities for continued medical and mental health support. Rape victims reality was greatly affected by the availability of an advocate, the existence of a rape crisis team, and prosecution process.

The study also addressed the attitudes and perceptions of the people in positions to assist the rape victim. Advocates in some situations were hesitant to push the issue of prosecution with law enforcement if investigators deemed the case unfit to continue. The advocate's concern with creating barriers for the next victim is a good example of symbolic interactionism at work. Even though the advocate hoped that more could be done, they stopped short at demanding more so that the next time they had to ask law enforcement for help they wouldn't have burned any bridges.

They symbols of what truly constituted a rape were indicative of the world view. If the rape didn't cause visible physical injuries to the rape victim or if a weapon wasn't used it wasn't deemed as a serious crime. Also if the rape victim knew her rapist it seems the world view wasn't as sympathetic to the rape victim. Those visible symbols of a crime, the injuries and the weapon were important to whether the rape was successfully prosecuted.

The inconsistent medical help given to rape victims was very concerning. The study didn't delve into the meanings behind these actions or inactions as the case may be. Why did only certain victims receive important information and medical care for STD's and pregnancy? The process to collect bodily fluids and document injuries seemed firmly in place, why the difference in the medical care for the prevention of STD's and pregnancy? Was it simply the lack of training for personnel, or was it something more to do with the individual's attitudes and perceptions of the rape victim? Or even how the medical personnel interpreted the meanings of the rape victims behavior?

The study was eye opening and addresses an important issue in our society. It highlighted the need for education for the legal, medical, and mental health systems so that they may better meet the various needs of all rape victims.

Campbell- Response to Rape

The article by Campbell examines how rape victims are treated in legal, medical, and mental health institutions. There are numerous factors which determine the severity of rape cases including; the use of a weapon, whether the victim was a stranger or not, presence of physical injury, if there was alcohol involved and lastly the reaction of the victim deeming them as either "good victim" or "bad victim". Campbell examines what the protocol for victims should be and then compares that information with statistics for actual rape statistics.

Campbell compares three different test groups and how they were treated in each institution. The first group received proper services with access to resources in their community as well as legal success. The second group comprised more of a cluster with many different experiences. Victims in this group were more likely raped by a partner or someone they know and often happened under the influence of alcohol. This group did not receive success in the legal system implying that the use of alcohol negates claims of rape. The third group had a negative experience in the legal, medical, and mental health institutions. They did not see success legally and often were denied proper medical treatment and health information. The treatment of each of the three groups can be related to inherent social problems dealing with race, ethnicity, and class.

Campbell's article can be related to the methods used by structural functionalists when comparing each social institution and how the affect one another. Often rape victims who do not exhibit signs of a "good victim" are treated unfairly by the police and by medical facilities. They are often mis-judged and pushed to the side due to their socio-economic status and lack of authority. Campbell quoted one case advocate when they said, "You could tell the case was going to go nowhere and nothing I could do would change that. The police were adamant. I would have had better luck banging my head against a brick wall. Besides, you have to think of the next victim you'll be working with. You don't want to anger the police so badly on one case that it may hurt the next victim the comes through." This quote is a great example of how different social institutions interact and affect each other.

Brief response to Rivera's Domestic Violence about Latina Women

Rivera’s Latina Domestic Violence

When comparing Rivera’s article to the conflict theory we find many similarities and explanations. I think Rivera’s response primarily applied the Conflict Theory. When referring to the conflict theory I usually think of the haves and have nots and while material things are usually what is implied in the haves and have nots, non concrete things can be included as well. For example, the ability to speak English as a second language. Without speaking English, a woman is isolated to great extents in the U nited States. Without the knowledge of the language spoken in a community resources, jobs, and help are extremely limited. While perhaps one groups is not gaining, another is certainly loosing. Financial access is another common downfall in domestic violence, specifically in the Latino community. With the lack financial means to educate oneself, a woman gets stuck in the domestic role of a housewife – tending to the children, laundry, and cleaning. Or what comes first? The chicken or the egg? Do women lack financial means because they aren’t educated, or are they unable to become educated because of the lack of financial necessities.

We can also easily see that structural functionalism is applied here as well. The same idea of if the lungs are breathing in oxygen, the heart and brain won’t work (the body analogy). If a woman isn’t educated, she will lack the ability to speak English, seek for help, become employed, etc. Touching on functionalism, Caitland’s point on religion is very interesting. Should a woman/Latino family not believe the certain religious beliefs, they may not feel as “stuck”.

Domestic Violence Against Latinas

The article discusses several factors that affect Latina women who suffer domestic violence. Rivera mentions aspects of social services, judicial system, culture and political system. I believe there are other things that Latina women face but also American woman. Since both face a lot disadvantages just for been women, I see this every day with victims where sometimes the results are not what you wanted, or the political system is so difficult sometimes to make a change that no matter what nationality you are. The judicial system also is difficult to navigate. The legal process is unknown to many of us and indeed the language becomes a barrier. Therefore the language, emotional shock and an unknown judicial and legal system are not a good combination.

Been a victim of domestic violence put us in situations where is so difficult to understand our options and it gets worse when we don’t know the language, the culture, and in general a system from a different country.

When I was reading the statistics I wasn’t impress because I now there are real, but also Rivera’s article mentions the myths and stereotypes that exist, and I would like to mention that some of the post that I read, that not necessarily the majority of Latinas involved in domestic violence are poor, we need to understand that domestic violence doesn’t distinguish race, nationality, language, social status, or religion. That the lack of language could be a factor but not necessarily because we don’t speak very well English we are ignorant, since many women that suffer are professionals in their country and well educated. As a Latina I haven’t experience domestic violence but I help victims of domestic violence and I don’t see difference from Americans or Latinas other that the opportunity that they have to express what they are experiencing. And while racism and discrimination exist in these times, it could be because a lack of cultural sensitivity. Also we need to get educated in general in this topic and learn how to ask what we need as women.

Response to Rivera's Article on Domestic Violence Against Latinas

Rivera's analysis of domestic violence against Latinas by Latino males addresses the problem as a Symbolic Interactionist, Structural Functionalist and Conflict Theorist. I believe, as Rivera does, that looking through all three lenses is critical to addressing and solving this pervasive problem. On the micro level she addresses the meanings behind the actions of both the abuser and the abused, as well as law enforcement. At the macro level Rivera addresses the functionality and dysfunctionality of the institutions, for example the criminal justice system and social services system. Rivera also addresses the conflict of the competing groups. Those with more power, English speaking vs. Non-English speaking. Politically, Latina women as a group have more barriers to overcome in accessing immediate help and permanent solutions to domestic violence. Rivera also discussed the competing group of law enforcement vs. the group of Latina victims of domestic violence. The first has all the power and the second is at the mercy of that power.

Rivera broke down her study into four parts. The first was to shed light on the topic. It highlighted the impact of culture and community, and language. The Latino culture has so much baggage to deal with when addressing domestic violence. The stereotypes, the patriarchal structure, and the pervasive idea that domestic violence is a "private matter" all inhibit successful elimination or reduction of domestic violence in Latino community. How this culture interprets their reality, the meaning of their actions, and the symbols inherent in what a woman is and what a man is all play a huge role in how domestic violence is addressed, or not addressed as the case may be.

In the rest of the sections of Rivera's study she addresses the statistical data, the legal system, and the Latino community's response to domestic violence. The study is timely and relevant. Rivera calls for change in how legislation, law enforcement, the criminal justice system, and the social service system deal with Latina victims of domestic violence. The data is supportive of the need for change. The explanation of how shelters are funded was equally important. Rivera addresses many of the roadblocks to successful mediation of this problem both on the micro and macro level.

As a Mexican-American woman I know, sadly, from personal experience how my ability to speak English, my higher education, and essentially living outside of the traditional Latino community puts me in a better position to solicit help from institutions if I were to ever need it. I've been pulled over and know that I was treated differently because I was able to speak to the police officer in English. His attitude completely changed after I opened my mouth. He had already made judgments based on my hair, skin, and eye color, as well as the Mexican station I had playing on the radio in my car. This example is nowhere near the traumatic event of being a victim of domestic violence, but it does give me a taste of what it's like dealing with the people who are supposed to protect you when you need it and the potential of being treated differently because of my ethnicity and culture.

Domestic Violence against Latinas

Domestic violence in Latino communities is mostly a result of low value which is given to Latino women due to lack of education, language barrier, culture, race, women not being represented in law making, but the biggest factor is that women can’t support large families on their own they count on their husbands and have no other choice but being stuck with the abuser.

Let us see how lack of education contributes to this abuse. First of all lack of academic education prevents these women from having a good employment with enough money and becoming independent so that in case the abuse happens they can take their kids and leave their husbands. Due to lack of financial resources, if these women chose to leave their husbands they would go back to their parents in order to support the kids and this is another social issue where Latino women feel embarrassed in the community for not being able to build a family.

Second, there is lack of knowledge of community resources and representatives. Latino women may not be aware of people and institutions that can defend their rights and make abusive husbands pay for their actions. This is a result of community isolation where Latino women are just home everyday taking care of domestic work without following up with media. For Latinos who don’t have documents yet to work in USA, men chose to take a risk of working illegally and leave women and kids home.

History, culture and social way Latinos understand how a Latino family must be, play a big role to this domestic abuse. Just like in many third world countries, it takes time for Latino communities to change their way of living (changing from how their ancestors lived) and in this case people may have an excuse of keeping their culture by following their ancestor’s tradition.

In this article, we find Conflict Theory being applied where Latino men take advantages of cultural practices and other barriers faced by Latino women to keep these women in abusive life. The only person who can put an end to this abuse is Latino women by getting enough education and resources, speaking up for themselves and not being stuck with bad traditional practices. It’s always a good idea for communities to keep their culture and pass it to their kids, but we should only keep good practices not bad ones otherwise it will be passed from one generation to another.

Domestic Violence Against Latinas

Domestic violence against Latina women is a highly complex issue on many sociological levels. Some of the factors that contribute to the complexity of the issue are race, culture, language barrier, poverty, lack of resources, ignorance, fear (of spouses & also of the institutions that could help), isolation, Latino Machismo, social class of Latinos, and on and on. These are strictly social issues and we don’t even begin to discuss the psychological issues involved in domestic violence.

Looking at this from a Conflict Theorist perspective, we find out which group(s) is/are being served by the occurrence of domestic violence against Latinas. There is a preponderance of domestic violence against Latinas and these women hesitate to ask for help, or cannot find help against their aggressors. Because the women are not seeking help or a solution (for a variety of reasons), the Latino men (their attackers) are keeping their power over the women. The Latino men are served by dominating their women through domestic violence, and in turn the women not reporting the men, the men keep their status in the patriarchal family system that is the family system in the Latin culture. Men remain in power and women are kept in their place. This, of course, is not always accomplished through domestic violence against women, but it does serve these men.

This issue goes deeper. We have the larger society of the dominant whites who are served also through domestic violence of Latinas in more than one way; I will discuss a few. Through domestic violence of Latinas, certain stereotypes are reinforced to the larger society: Latino men are aggressive; Latina women are subservient and accept violence in their culture (because they are not asking for help); Latinos are ignorant & uneducated because they are not communicating in the English and they are not asking for help; Latinos are a drain on the system created for whites or U.S. citizens; Latinos are here as illegal immigrants and the list goes on and on…and the stereotypes are perpetuated. This serves the white dominant group in reinforcing why it is dominant the Latinos are of minority status.

Another way the dominant group is being served by Latinas NOT reporting domestic violence is that the DG resources are not being used on the minority group to assist these women. Until the Latina women have more resources available to them, can communicate to law enforcement, trust law enforcement, have societal support, do not fear being deported…they may simply continue to take the abuse…which in turn, reinforces the behavior as acceptable to the abusers…the children learn this...and it is perpetuated.

Judge Andrew A. Valdez

Last Thursday at the Salt Lake Valley Detention Center the girls had a guest speaker his name was Judge Andrew A. Valdez he was extremely encouraging and inspirational. He was very positive and motivating and he also told the girls about himself and about some of his life experiences. Judge Andrew Valdez also gave the girls and staff members his book that he has written and had autographed each book personally I also receieved his book which I though was so nice and thoughtful of him. Listenting to Judge Valdez speak made me think about structural functionalism. For instance structual functionalist's look at the fuctions of institutions and the institution in this case would be the salt lake valley detention center their function and purpose is to provide structure and stability for the kids and to also help get them back onto the right track. Functionalist's also want to explain why things happen and they also look for who or what's to blame. Therefore, a structural functionalist might say the parents are to blame because they did not create a structured and stabalized enviornment for the child, or maybe the child is to blame because the child is the one who is committing deviant acts that are beyond their parents parental control and that they need to have consequences for their actions that they are in these institutions based on their actions alone so they shouldn't blame anyone else but themselves. A structural functionalist might also blame society as well they might say that society is to blame because society has put such an emphasis on jobs and the importance of having a job and a career that due to these reasons structure and stability in the home is lacking. For instance there is no one to make sure the child is going to school because both parents are working so the kids commit truancy, the kids have to walk home by themselves because both parents are working, the child now has to cook dinner on their own and feed themselves do their homework on their own, and tuck themselves in at night because both parents or single parents have to pay the bills and make sure that the kids have fresh water to drink and warm food to eat. In other words, they also have to work 12 hour or more shifts in order to pay the gas water and electric bill. A structural functionalist might say this is dysfunctional as well as functional

Rivera- Domestic Violence against Latinas

The article by Rivera examines Domestic violence focused primarily in latino communities. Various factors affect the status of latino women in U.S. society. Politics, society, and economic status play a large factor in status in latino communities. Women face the threat of multiple discrimination and are often stuck in abusive relationships due to language barriers, low mobility because of family size, religion, and financial restraints.

Structural functionalism examines the relationship between social institutions Numerous institutions affect latino women's ability to avoid domestic abuse. One particular institution the author addressed, Religion, was intriguing to me since i woul cacaration d often consider that a place for women to turn to in situations of abuse. Many religious Latina women feel the need to keep a family together and will therefore accept abuse. Religion is not the only institution that affects Latinas. Because of a strained relationship with law enforcement many women fear calling the police in situations of violence. Often arrests result in "dual arrests" where both the man and women are arrested not benefiting the woman at all. This is a good explanation for a high percentage of Latino's in jail. Different social institutions have direct affects on one another. Latino women face barriers due to race, gender, and origin and often face discrimination in multiple forms.

Social Systems vs. Rape Victims

When looking at Campbell's article through the conflict theory, it is easy to link together the three social systems talked about in this article (legal, medical, and mental health) and put them as a competing group against the rape victims. More specifically, what the victim wants to get out of these social systems versus what these social systems will offer them. Each of these systems show on the surface that they are readily available for a rape victim, but after reading this article it seems that they are only there to assist a victim if their case falls into what fits best for them. In each case, the social systems are the dominant group with the victims being dependent on them to receive support.

If a rape case doesn't contain certain criteria (use of a weapon, not knowing the rapist, and not being under the influence of alcohol), then it is often seen that these cases are ended in a way that opposes what the victim wants. The police hold the power in that they can decide whether or not to even pass a case further on to the prosecutors. So how can this the police benefit from this kind of discrimination? You would think that the more cases that went through prosecution, the more they would be seen as doing better at their job. But when they hold the very power of deciding which cases should be taken further, thus fitting into the victims desired outcome, they have power over every rape victim. The victim is now dependent on the legal system to receive protection, whether they get it or not.

The same goes for the victims receiving help from a mental health institution. The victims that show more outward acceptance to help will be the ones given the most help. It kind of seems that the cases that show from the beginning to have a positive ending are the ones that are given the most attention. The victims that don't fall into conformation with what the mental health system sees as ideal are faced with either receiving help from loved ones who most likely will not have the training needed to help the victim, not receiving help, or conforming into the "good victim" behavior to receive the help they need. Once again the social system holds the power over the victims.

The medical system could potentially be the most detrimental of all if service is denied to a rape victim. Rape can lead to STDs, unwanted pregnancies, and other bodily injuries that could cause instant or future damage. Many victims are still in a state of shock and don't know what processes needs to be taken to make sure they are alright. If certain antibiotics or knowledge is withheld from a victim, it could affect them long term. But in the end, it's the medical system that holds the tools needed to properly care for a rape case. The victim will always be reliant on the medical system.

I think this quote can sum up how the conflict theory would look at these social systems versus rape victims: "When certain characteristics of the victim, the assault, and the community are in careful alignment, the likelihood of an outcome that is consistent with the victims needs is most probable."

Battered Women Syndrome

This article it’s very interesting. I can see this happening a lot, since I work very close with women in domestic violence, especially dealing with the police and court process. I have witnessed those women that after several years or several times of being abuse, finally they decided to stand up for themselves but they never imagine that doing this, they are going to experience impredicible consequences. Sometimes it can be good for them, but sometimes their process to get out of the situations is not that good. I tell women that sometimes there are situations where morally is totally wrong what the perpetrator is doing but other occasions legally they have some advantage. In this cases victims feel that they are not been support by the justice system.

I remember the time when there was one immigrant women who was arrested and put in jail, because she didn’t speak English and her husband did, she wasn’t able to explain every detail that just happened. For the officers she was the perpetrator, when she was in jail, she was able to talk to an officer in her own language, she explained in details and she even had bruises. Immediately the officer called the victim advocates to explain the situation and the advocates went to talk with the judge, after review ing everything it was determined that she was the victim, than of course she needed to respond to the attack and it was where her husband was injured but compared with the bruises that she had it was evident that the husband was in fault.

I hope that the system can be more condescending with victims and understand that this Battered Woman Syndrome exist.