Statistics and Impact of NYAWC
Barriers Faced by Battered Immigrant Women
Success Stories

Statistics and Impact of NYAWC

The effect of our services is far-reaching, impacting the lives of hundreds of women every year. Consider these statistics:

• Every year NYAWC receives 3,000 calls to our hotline and assists more than 600 abused women and their children.
• Of the women we serve, 80% come to us with annual incomes of $15,000 or less.
• Two-thirds of the women we serve have one or more children to support.
• 85% of the women we serve have a primary language other than English.
• 30% of the women we serve are not married to their abuser and therefore have fewer options for legal protection.
• Although 3 out of every 4 women we served have been physically assaulted, others are terrorized by threats, stalking, and other forms of psychological abuse which can be just as damaging.
• About 80% of our clients can be helped to safety without ever entering a shelter.
• On average, only 9% of the women we serve remain with or return to their abusers, or live in other unsafe housing arrangements upon exiting our program.
• Women served by NYAWC report decreases in all forms of abuse. Women report a significant decrease in psychological abuse, thanks to being empowered by NYAWC services.
• Upon exiting our program, the vast majority of our clients report an increase in social supports, such as friends, co-workers, and social services professionals - a vital step in overcoming abuse.
• Of our clients who have enrolled in Vocational training or English language programs, more than 80% attend their trainings or classes on a regular basis.
• One-third of the women we serve report an increase in income by the time they exit our program.

Barriers Faced by Abused Immigrant Women

Domestic violence is a tragedy that affects all segments of the U.S. population, but immigrant women face unique challenges. Language, cultural, legal and economic barriers leave Asian immigrant women especially vulnerable to abuse. NYAWC services empower women to overcome these barriers.

Language Access
Limited English proficiency often prevents women from approaching mainstream providers. Lack of cultural understanding and sensitivity from providers only adds to this issue.

Culture
Because of cultural taboos and practices, abused Asian women may face multiple abusers - including in-laws, other family members or community leaders who may be participants in the abuse. Women feel trapped by social traditions and feelings of shame.

Legal
Fear and misunderstanding of law enforcement prevents women from approaching the police for help. Because of immigration issues, women fear becoming undocumented if they leave their husbands.

Economic
Work authorization laws make it difficult for abused immigrant women to obtain work legally if they leave their abusive husbands. Lack of previous work experience, distrust of authorities, and limited English proficiency are other barriers to economic independence. Women may also feel unable to leave because of the high costs of housing.

Success Stories

Julie
At the age of 23, Julie's marriage was arranged to a U.S. citizen who had family in her home country. Julie, like many others in her country, was not highly educated and spoke no English, but she made the leap of faith to join her husband in the U.S. He began verbally abusing her and accused her of cheating on him whenever she spoke to a male customer in his store where she worked. Julie decided that she wanted to study English, but when she told her husband, he would not permit her to attend English classes. He was so controlling, he would not let her leave the small neighborhood where they lived.

Julie finally left her abuser and entered a NYAWC shelter after her husband was arrested for breaking her hand with a fax machine. After entering our shelter, Julie made good use of her freedom. She enrolled in an ESL class and her English improved tremendously. With the help of NYAWC staff and pro-bono attorneys, Julie self-petitioned for a green card through the Violence Against Women Act and was granted a permit to work in the U.S. She is now working part-time in an office and continues to study English with the hopes of eventually earning a degree in Business Administration. Julie managed to save enough money to secure a private apartment for herself and is now living in a safe environment.

Helen
Helen met her husband in China, while he was there visiting family. Helen was over 30 years old and felt enormous cultural and familial pressure to marry him because of her age. She believed that they would build a strong and trusting relationship in time, but as soon as she arrived in the U.S. to be with Frank, things started to go bad. Although he began beating her black and blue shortly after their marriage, she had been raised to believe that it was a woman's duty to keep her husband happy. In addition to the physical abuse, he would insult her and threaten her with divorce and deportation. At times, he would force her to stay alone in the apartment with their new baby for days on end with no money, no food and no hope. Helen was resigned to her life of misery, when her husband decided to send her to New York City to live with his parents - less as a daughter-in-law and more as an unpaid house worker. She was given the cold basement floor for her and her baby to sleep on. The physical abuse was so extreme that her in-laws had to unwillingly take her to the hospital for treatment. It was there that she finally felt unable to bear the abuse any longer. She was given a referral to a community-based organization, which in turn referred her to the NYAWC.

Helen arrived at our shelter with a year-old baby in her arms, drained emotionally, physically and mentally. She received food, clothes and a small grant for expenses like medications for herself and her child. Counseling services and support meetings with other residents gave her the emotional strength to pursue criminal proceedings against her in-laws and recover her documents from them. NYAWC advocated for her to receive Medicaid and other public assistance. Finally, with the help of a legal referral, she filed for a green card and within four months she received the document. Soon, the housing manager at NYAWC helped her find a place to live and moved out of the shelter into her own two bedroom apartment-a small start to her dream of a happy loving family.

Wendy
Wendy and her husband met while she was in medical school in the U.S., married and had a son together. Soon after they were married, her husband began to display a violent temper. He often screamed at her and pushed her during arguments, and the violence escalated over time. A year after their son was born, her husband threw her into a window; shattering the glass with her forehead. After neighbors called the police, he was arrested, but Wendy later dropped the charges in hopes of saving her marriage. The abuse continued, and ashamed, Wendy tried to hide the cuts and bruises from her colleges at the hospital where she worked.

The abuse continued in severe physical, psychological and financial forms until Wendy discovered her husband had been using her credit and forging her signature on multiple credit cards, running up over $100,000 in debt in her name. When she confronted him, he pushed her to the ground and began choking her, smothering her screams with a pillow. Before she passed out Wendy managed to grab her cell phone and dial a friend, who quickly called the police.

The police came and arrested her husband and referred Wendy to the NYAWC. Since then she has been closely working with her counselor. Wendy decided that to move forward with criminal proceedings and has received a criminal order of protection against her husband. She is working through the courts to clear the debt he ran up in her name. She is also reconstructing her life, moving into a new apartment, preparing for divorce and getting counseling help from NYAWC for her traumatized son.

Diana
Diana endured severe abuse from her husband for ten years while she lived with him in Korea. He routinely strangled, punched, and psychologically abused her. In addition to abusing Diana, he also abused their two children. She tried to leave him on a few occasions while in Korea, but he always found her and forced her to return. Eventually they moved to the U.S. for his job. He continued to beat Diana and would torment her by threatening to kill her and her family if she did not do as he wanted. After living in America for some time, she confided in a friend who told her about the New York Asian Women's Center.

Although she was scared to call at first, Diana eventually called our hotline and began regular meetings with a Counselor. During counseling services, Diana spoke of her constant fear of her husband. She also expressed her fear, anxiety, and insecurity about her and her children's future. She realized that this was not the life that she wanted them to grow up in. With the support of her counselor, she was able to gain back her confidence and became determined to break free from her husband's hold on her life. Eventually she decided to proceed with a divorce.

The NYAWC counselor linked her to an attorney and went with her to all of her legal appointments. She received an order of protection against her husband and filed for divorce. Diana's case was an amazing success. She was granted rights to the marital home as well as child support. Once the legal case was settled, Diana focused on finding employment so she could support herself and her children. Diana's children also began meeting with NYAWC counselors to help them overcome the trauma they experienced. Next year Diana is proud to be sending her oldest daughter to college.

Sue
Sue met her boyfriend when she was only 15, after she first moved to New York from China. He was always very possessive of her, and gradually became more and more controlling. He began insulting her constantly, and would sometimes force himself on her sexually. They were in college when he hit her for the first time. Although he begged her to forgive him, several months later it happened again. The abuse continued until a classmate referred Sue to the NYAWC.

When she and her NYAWC counselor first met, Sue did not accept the fact that she was being abused. She kept saying, "I understand in my head what he did to me, but I can't believe he would actually do that to me. I do not think this is domestic violence." Sue told her counselor that each time her boyfriend controlled or threatened her, and especially when he had begged her to get back together, she found that her emotions and feelings were increasingly silenced. She had become desensitized to the violence, and was accepting it as a part of her daily life.

After just a few counseling sessions, Sue was able to see that she is a survivor of domestic violence. She has cut off all contact with her abuser and is prepared to go to criminal court to obtain an order of protection if he tries to contact her. She has finally started to process her emotions, expressing anger, shame and sadness. She is just now realizing the impact that the abuse violence has had in her life. Sue continues to meet with NYAWC counselors and wants to start a discussion group about dating violence for young women at her college.

Mimi
Mimi was born in a rural part of China. She had a strong, happy relationship with her husband and they had three children. Her youngest daughter moved to the United States with her husband and two children. After her husband passed away, Mimi came to the U.S. to live with them. But when she arrived, her daughter forced her to work as a servant in her home. She cooked, cleaned, and took care of her grandchildren for five years. During this time, her daughter was constantly abusive towards her. Mimi finally fled the day that her daughter threw a pot of boiling water at her.

When she fled her daughter's home, Mimi was almost 70 years old. Although she was highly independent with day-to-day tasks, she was at a loss when it came to interacting with the outside world. Even though she had lived in the U.S. for five years, she did not know much about American culture, did not have any English language skills, and had no friends or family that could support her. Fortunately, she was referred to the NYAWC and entered one of our shelters.

NYAWC helped Mimi obtain an order of protection against her daughter from Family Court. Because she never learned how to use the subway, NYAWC taught her how to get to and from various places. Mimi eventually learned how to ride the subway, regularly taking it to her health clinic and to a Chinese senior center, where she began to participate in social activities. NYAWC also helped Mimi find an apartment in a supportive senior housing facility. Mimi soon entered her new apartment, became very independent, and is close friends with several of the other elderly women living in the facility.