Language Access and Domestic Violence During COVID Against Latin American Women

The research explores the dimensions of language justice in relation to the increasing number of domestic violence instances amongst Latin American women in the United States and the disadvantages the community faces in terms of receiving the assistance they need during the pandemic. After lockdowns were put in places, many women were more susceptible to be victims of domestic violence because they were not informed of emergency hotlines in order to receive the assistance, they needed because of language barriers. At the same time, when women called to report incidents of abuse, they were faced with long wait times and many representatives did not speak their Native language, which put them in danger. Many newly arrived women to the United States are often dependent on their partners in order to provide for them financially, but as well as assist in assimilation into the states. The US government does not provide any subsidized translation for asylum cases and yet all asylum documents must be submitted in English. Women are afraid to leave their dysfunctional relationships as they were not able to find housing and many shelters are currently overpopulated because of the increasing number of calls received by nonprofit organizations seeking to place women and children. Language justice is often seen as a shadow subculture big within the movement of social justice when it is the backbone of movements because it allows for organizations to receive the tools, they need in order to be able to operate, as well as provide individualized attention to their clients in order to accommodate their personal needs. To understand the complexity of language access is to understand the nuances within the experiences of marginalized identities and the power of being able to vocalize one’s needs in a way that encapsulates the severity of their circumstances