Bridging Differences: Advocating for Survivors from Underserved Communities

Transcription

1 Bridging Differences: Advocating for Survivors from Underserved Communities Working with Vulnerable Survivors from Muslim Communities Aisha Rahman, JD Sugarlimb Consulting Why are you here? Let s start with an exercise: Why did you choose to come to this workshop this afternoon? Do you currently work with Muslim survivors? Have you had challenges working with this community? What do you expect to learn from today s session? Goals After today s presentation, you will: 1. Learn who the American Muslim community is and who it is not 2. Address some of the notions and stereotypes that you or your agency have about American Muslim communities 3. Have a better understanding of the dynamics of DV in Muslim communities

2 Ground Rules No question is a bad question - you can t easily offend me. Addressing Bias and Prejudice... First rule: we all have it. Do not underestimate the power of narratives - both positive and negative An exercise to make you feel like a bad person... Take 5 minutes and journal. What are some stereotypes that you ve heard about the American Muslim community, particularly women?

3 Who are American Muslims? Muslims are the only faith community surveyed with no majority race. 25% black 24% white 18% Asian 18% Arab 7% mixed race 5% Hispanic Are all American Muslims immigrants? Half of Muslims are native born and half are foreign born 86% are citizens Do all American Muslims in the same socioeconomic status? Muslims are the most likely faith community to report low income, with 35% reporting a household income less than $30,000 compared with 18% or less of all other studied groups. Black and Arab Muslims (44% and 37%, respectively) are more likely to report a household income of less than $30,000 compared with white and Asian Muslims (28% and 30%, respectively). Muslims, Protestants, and Catholics have similar education levels.

4 Aren t Muslim Women Oppressed? Muslim women are more likely than Muslim men to achieve higher education (73% of women vs. 57% of men with post-high school education or higher). Muslim women are more likely than Muslim men to report living in a middle-class household (28% vs. 19%). Do all Muslims have the same sexual orientation? Like other faith groupssurveyed, roughly nine in ten Muslims identify as straight with the remainder identifying as either bisexual, something else, or refusing to answer. *All of these statistics are part of the American Muslim Poll 2017 by the Institute of Social Policy and Understanding Did you learn anything new? Are you surprised by any of the data that was just shared? Let s go back to bias and prejudice. What do you see when you see me? What do you know about my culture? What do you know about my religious practice?

5 Gasp: Muslims are just like other groups. As you saw in the stats, Muslim communities are diverse in ethnic background, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, educational background, religious practice, etc. Barriers for Muslim Survivors Immigration Heightened anti-muslim sentiment has impacted reporting Distrust of law enforcement because of: Historical oppression Immigration status News reports (GA police officer story: We only kill black people. ) So, what does Islam have to do with it? To understand Islam and its perspective on DV, you have to start at the very beginning. Tawhid The Creation Story Satanic Logic Power and Control

6 The Islamic Paradigm of Marriage Affection, love and mercy (30:21 and 7:189) Spouses as "garments" for one another (2:187) Believing men and believing women as protectors of one another (9:71) Purpose of marriage is companionship and partnership, not a service contract (Prophet Muhammad's Last Sermon) Husband and wife maintain rights and responsibilities as a couple and as individuals Discussion of 4:34 Does Islam say you can beat your wife? Story of Job Example of the Prophet Muhammad How Does Islam show up in American Courts? Islamic marriage contract Mahr - marital gift I am Islamically divorced. What does that mean for my civil divorce? Working with imams/religious leaders

7 Questions? Find me! Aisha Rahman, Esq.