Marginalization Among Abused Women

Purpose: Globally, violence against women remains at epidemic proportion with 50% of women reporting physical or sexual abuse. Physical and sexual abuse adversely affects the health of women and may increase their marginalization. Immigrant women may be even more marginalized. Marginalized women are more socially isolated which restricts them in accessing needed resources. The purpose of this study was examine 1) if there is a difference in marginalization between abused women who seek safety in an emergency shelter or those who seek safety through a protection order; and  2) if there are differences in marginalization among US born, documented non-US born and undocumented non-US born abused women.

Methods: DESIGN: A naturalistic longitudinal prospective comparative design with outcome measures at baseline and every 4 months for 7 years. Baseline data, collected in 2011, was used for this study.  SAMPLE: 300 women who have experienced first time domestic abuse and who choose to either enter a shelter (n=150) or apply for a protection order through the justice system (n=150). MEASURE:  Koci Marginality Index alpha Cronbach in this sample = .84.  Data analyzed with ANOVA.

Results: There was a significant difference in marginalization scores (p=.035) between abused women who seek protection orders (M=12.72, SD=5.16) and abused women who seek safety in emergency shelters (M=14.03, SD=5.58) and significant differences (p=.024) among US born (M=12.76, SD=5.34), documented non-US born (M=13.86, SD=5.69) and undocumented non-US born (M=14.81, SD=5.14) abused women.

Conclusions: Abused women who seek safety in emergency shelters and immigrant women report greater marginalization scores. Greater marginalization may place these women at greater risk for revictimization and restrict their ability to access resources. Identifying marginalized women early may aid in obtaining needed resources for these women.