Introduction
This project aims at building the capacity of the families of the Korean/ Asian Immigrant by providing better services to the victims of family abuse. The project will specifically seek to identify and address the gaps that exist in order to build the capcity of this community in handling family abuse issues. The project seeks to establish more service centers to make services more accessible to the Korean/Asian Immigrant community. The service centers will be equipped with counselors, the health workers and the social workers. The trained personnel will be involved in educating the public on family abuse issues.
Populations and statistics of the Asian Americans: According to the Census carried out in the year 2002, Asian Americans make up to 4.3% of the total U.S population. This high population together with the fact that it is among the fastest growing community makes equally attract more challenges (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007). The community registered a 63% increase in their total population from that of 1990 census. Koreans have always registered the highest number of domestic violence cases as indicated by the records of the City Attorney’s Office (U.S. Census Bureau, 2007).
Overview of domestic violence in America
Domestic violence is a major problem in the U.S and has adversely affected many families. The vice has continued to make millions of people across age groups and sexes to be living in vulnerable condition (Staff writer, 2009). Studies have shown that one of every four women In America will experience domestic violence during her life time. Most of the cases involve inmate partners or very close family members. Around 1.3 million women are physically abused by an inmate partner annually (Staff writer, 2009). This shows that females are most vulnerable.
Domestic violence occurs among all races, ethnicities ages cultural groups, religious and economic class. Its negative impact is felt on families, children and the economy of every community. It can take the form of physical, verbal or emotional abuse. According to the National Coalition against Domestic Violence, those who are involved view such actions as method of gaining and keeping control over another person. Researches have revealed that in most cases the violators are close relatives of the victims. Report by the American National Medical Association, 22-35% of all the women visiting emergency medical rooms are victims of spousal abuse (Larry, 2008)).
Project Justification/Problem statement
Even though various services are being rolled out every year to help the victims of family abuse, these services are not reaching the majority of the Korean victims of family abuse. There are limited centers to provide services to the Korean victims of family abuse. The few existing programs targeting the community victims of family abuse have no access to sustainable resources (Larry, 2008). This means that search programs do not always succeed in providing quality and sustainable services to the Korean victims. The lack of resources for the Korean victims of family abuse is partly explained by the cultural beliefs imposed upon the victims. It is also associated with the stigma associated with the domestic violence within the community. The religious leaders are also seen to be biased towards women supporting their suffering and roles in the community (Larry, 2008).
Their existing personnel are poorly trained/and equipped to lobby against domestic violence, provide counseling services and can not generate and use the available resources. Because of lack of knowledge the victims of family abuse are generally discouraged from seeking safety and any other kind of assistance. The domestic violence is also identified as major cause of homelessness especially among the community members staying near the cities. Studies have also established a connection between the abused children and the probability of them becoming abusive. It is also proved that a higher percentage of the men who abuse their wives also have a higher probability of abusing their children (Larry, 2008).
Conceptual description
Family abuse is a term that denotes the mistreatment of a person by another person of the same family. It is the major cause of injury to women ages between 15- 44. It often even leads to murder in most cases. Although adult males can be victims of domestic abuse, the ration of the likelihood of domestic abuse to that of women is 3:5. This shows that women are the most hit by the vice. Such abuse normally occurs during either or after asexual relationship (Larry, 2008).
In most cases the abusers inflict fear, intimidate and humiliate the victim to gain control over them. The act may result into a long term isolation of the victims from friends and family members. This fear of isolation limits the victim’s options of leaving such relationships. The vice can therefore continue for a long time before it comes to the public notice (Jing, 2009).
There several physical and emotional signs of abuse which the public should be empowered to know. This is because the victims of abuse often try to conceal their sufferance. Enhancing the capacity of the community members will help identify the victims to reduce their vulnerability to the related diseases. The victim of domestic abuse my have visible injuries or signs of injury (Jing, 2009). The victims are most of the times depressed leading to absenteeism of duty and isolation. In some cases, abuse may lead to suicide attempts, low self esteem and psychiatric disorders. Health care providers are required by law to report any suspected cases of domestic abuse to the local authorities (Larry, (2008).
Causes of domestic/Family violence Among the American community
Even though the community is widely diverse, various factors have been identified to as commonly fueling family abuse occurrences among the entire community. The factors include the biasness in the interpretation of the Confucian values. The community values have therefore failed to address violence against women. Most of the family abuses are also as a result of stress from migration into a new environment, financial instability, and conflict of various kinds, lack of support systems, and the continuation of the cycle of family abuse and ignorance on the operation of the U.S legal system. Most of the abusers are also those who had suffered either directly or indirectly from family abuse (Larry, 2008).
The complexity of the issue of family abuse
The victims of family abuse face numerous obstacles in avoiding, escaping or resisting the violence. The barriers include the behaviors of the violators, the family and friends, the ineffective community services and the resulting psychological effects of the abuse. Studies have shown that the rate of the abuse in relatively high among the recent Korean American immigrants. This is because in most cases the immigrants are always isolated from the larger community (Nair, 2011). The isolation may limit their opportunity to get the required services and support. The victims from such families may have no option but to continue staying in the abusive environment. The victims normally fear being isolated as they lack other options. Other members in the same situation may also be reluctant to get involved. Some victims especially women, may not want to forsake their children. Spiritual beliefs also limit one to move to another marriage. Many members of the community also lack knowledge about remedies for domestic violence.
Project Interventions
Any intervention program must therefore address the root causes of domestic violence. Such challenges to be addressed include the communities’ lack of understanding of various forms of family abuse. Such members of the community even fail to know when to categories an act as an abuse. Instead of reporting such cases, the victims are stigmatized by the community members. The project will therefore seek t provide education forums integrating all the stakeholders.
The project also seeks to increase the number and capacity of the existing health centers with the aim of making the resources more accessible to the victims. Each centre will be equipped with trained cancelling personnel’s and community health workers to help empower the community.
Such personnel will be trained to empower the community through various education programs organized both at the individual and at the group levels. This will increase the knowledge level of the community concerning all forms of family abuse. The project will enable the community members to recognize any form of abuse and take appropriate measures. This will improve referral of cases. That is, the increase in the number of cases being reported to the relevant authority. The community will also be swift in taking the victim to the established centers for both medical and cancelling assistance.
PROJECT DETAILS
The Project goal: This project aims at building the capacity of the families of the Korean/ Asian communities by providing better health, social and emotional support services to the victims of family abuse and Educating the public.
Project Objectives: The project aim to increase the number of service centers while improving the currently existing once; to build the capacity of the relevant expertise for better service to the community; to increase the awareness of the community members on the issues of family abuse and finally to bring together different key stakeholders like the church and the government agencies.
Outputs and Activities: The project will seek to train additional 50 community health workers, 50 counselors, and 50 social workers to be evenly distributed in the service centers. The project will seek to establish 10 new service centers based on the outcome of the needs assessment. The project will also carry out education measures such as roadside trade shows and educational public interview through the media. There will also be several open forums bringing different stakeholders together.
Project partners and their roles
The project will be spearheaded by Asian America Foundation and the Korean American Community Foundation. The two organizations will work together in partnership with other yet to be identified community based non-governmental organizations, civil based organizations, government agencies and faith based organizations. The two organizations will coordinate, monitor and evaluate of the project. The other organizations shall be involved in the direct implementation of the project.
The faith based organizations will be expected to utilize their influence and access to the Korean American Community to mobilize them for participation. The experts from the relevant government sectors and the non-governmental organizations will provide the expertise and the resources to assist the victims. Korean ethnic media which has a far reaching impact on the community will also be used to convey educational information and the project programs to the public.
The major donors of the project are the Pan-Asian Voice against Domestic Violence and the New York Asian Women’s Center. The two organizations will also assist in monitoring and evaluation through various visits to the project areas. Other potential donors like the Faith Based Organization will also be contacted for financial support.
Proposed Project Budget
|
BUDGET ITEM |
ITEM DESCRIPTION |
UNIT COST (DOLLARS) |
TOTAL COST (DOLLARS) |
|
Service Centers |
Building and equipping of 10 service centers. |
500,000 per centre. |
5, 000, 000 |
|
Training of 150 personnel in social work, Community health and counseling |
Each trainee 100 dollars |
15,000 |
|
|
Employing the personnel for 3 years |
Monthly salary of 100 dollars for each employee. |
36,000 |
|
|
Public involvement |
Organizing 2 road-side shows |
Design and production of information materials |
500 |
|
Hiring vehicles and public address system. |
500 |
||
|
stakeholder Mobilization |
500 |
||
|
Information and Educational Materials like banners |
500 |
||
|
Contribution to the Administrative Cost |
Administrative support |
500,000 Dollars annually to each of the two organizations. |
2, 000, 000 |
|
Administrative support to the spearheading organization. |
200 dollars monthly salary for two project staff members for 3 years |
7, 200 |
|
|
1, 000, 000 for the purchase of two project vehicles. |
1,000,000 |
||
|
10% contribution to the project coordination |
– |
– |
806,020 |
|
GRAND TOTAL |
– |
– |
8,060,200 |
Conclusion
Family abuse is therefore a real problem in the Korean American Community. The victims of the vice are normally faced with real challenges in trying to get the services that they need. In most cases the abusers continuous to enjoy freedom while the victims are suffering. It is therefore clear the educational programs designed in this project will help empower the public with the knowledge on family abuse. The most targeted by the project are also the recent immigrants who are the most hit by family abuse. With this project I believe that the community will be more secure for coexistence.