Community Insights on Domestic Violence among African Americans

Twenty years ago, in an attempt to fill a gap in the literature on domestic violence among African Americans, the Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community (IDVAAC) launched its Community Insights Project in which focus groups were conducted in selected cities around the country. Over the course of the project, 335 African American participants in seven cities provided their views on the causes of domestic violence in the black community, solutions to the violence, and barriers to addressing the violence. These conversations with members of the faith community, the law enforcement community, community activists, human services workers, the LGBTQ community, and those working with children and youth provide a rare view of the black community's perspective on domestic violence. And while many of the responses are not exclusive to the black community, much of the discussion centered on uniquely African American issues such as structural inequalities, racial oppression, economic disenfranchisement of black men, and the ongoing impact of slavery. There was concern for the welfare of "the community" (vs. the individual), and for black men, even as they were being called out for their perpetration of intimate partner violence.