The Pyle Center housed a series of workshops geared toward UW-Madison’s Latina population Saturday. In addition to workshops about sexual assault, body and health issues, and writing exercises, the 8th Annual La Mujer Latina Conference featured prominent Latina speakers.
Yolanda Garza, the conference’s founder and UW assistant dean of students, said the idea for a Latina conference sparked with a small group of women getting together to discuss issues facing the Latina community. The women wanted to address health concerns as well as other needs.
“The topics selected by the committee reflect what participants are interested in and concerned about,” Garza said.
In conjunction with Sexual Assault Awareness Month, one of this year’s workshops involved a panel discussion focusing on sexual assault. Panel member Dr. Rachel Rodriguez, an RN whose research focuses on Latina immigrant and migrant farm worker women, discussed the difficulties faced by that population concerning sexual assault.
“These women are working on a farm all day, and then coming home at night and being hit or forced to have sex,” Rodriguez said. “They’re being turned away from shelters because they don’t have any papers or they don’t speak English; they’re too much of a hassle to deal with.”
Rodriguez also expressed concern that not only farm workers, but all Latinas, must overcome the additional hurdle of discrimination when seeking help for sexual assault.
“We’re seeing the predominantly white care providers put our people to the side, but saying that they treat everyone the same,” Rodriguez said.
Another panel member who is also a counselor at the Rape Crisis Center, Jessica Delgado, said she agreed that Latinas face more obstacles than Caucasian women when reporting sexual abuse.
“Especially when it comes to the Latina population, that kind of thing is very taboo,” Delgado said. “Also, if you don’t have a green card, you don’t want to talk to the law. And what if there’s no one who speaks Spanish? Communication is a big part of reporting abuse.”
One Latina audience member who works with sexual abuse victims commented on the cultural factors influencing women in the Latina community. She said most abused Latinas have been abused throughout their lives and may view it as a normal part of marriage. Also, many Latinas new to the United States may depend upon their husbands for economic support.
“One woman told me that her husband threatened to leave her if she didn’t keep having sex with him,” she said. “This woman asked me if I had a magic pill that would make her like to have sex with such a man.”
The panel discussion also focused on aspects of sexual assault that were not culture-specific, such as how to deal with an assault victim. Delgado’s advice was to be a supportive friend, and to be willing to listen.
“The best question you can ask the victim is, ‘what can I do for you?’ Also, just telling the victim that you believe her is a huge relief,” Delgado said.
Panel member Jessica Montez, a UW junior who described her own experiences in an abusive relationship, stressed the importance of allowing the victim to make her own decisions regarding if or when to leave the relationship.
“It’s hard to leave someone when he tells you he’ll kill you and your family,” said Montez. “Sometimes it’s more dangerous to leave than to stay.”
Montez also advised audience members to listen to and support the victim.
“These women really need someone to talk to, and maybe we should avoid giving them labels or telling them how to live their lives,” she said.