Black women face unique problems fleeing abuse. A new plan addresses those gaps

Jimmie Bridges did everything she could to hide the bruises. Her makeup covered the scars and black eyes. Her smile gave off the impression she was fine. And in front of her kids, she remained stoic in the face of the blows.  

“I was a great pretender,” Bridges said. Yet behind closed doors, she suffered in silence from the physical abuse by her now ex-husband in the throes of his addiction.  

It wasn’t until she consulted with an aunt and her friend about her situation, despite her instincts to hide everything, that she decided to leave. She filed for divorce in 2007, a turning point for her relationship. Bridges considers herself one of the luckier survivors, knowing others like her too often do not share the same fate.  

A local Indianapolis nonprofit is hoping to focus on why Black women, like Bridges, experience intimate partner violence at a higher rate than other demographics – 2.5 times higher than white women − and how to reverse the trend. Tuesday, the Domestic Violence Network released a three-year plan titled Beyond Equity to tackle the issue and address gaps in service providers.

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“We’re coming at this from a lens advocating for and elevating the voices of Black women to say, ‘what is it that we need and to be able to provide and collaborate with other organizations?’” said Rebecca Berry, director of strategies initiatives for the Domestic Violence Network.  

Berry said the network identified these gaps during listening sessions this past year with community members and survivors. According to the report, the feedback from survivors was clear: Service providers in Central Indiana frequently missed the mark when it came to caring for Black women, from a lack of therapists with the same skin color to hair care products available in shelters.  

The result: Some participants would not get help from the available professionals, or view them as a last resort.  

The network’s goals to address that in their new plan include providing shelters with culturally-minded resources for their Black clients and distributing names of Black therapists in the city in the community. Another objective is to have monthly meetings in the 46218 ZIP code just northeast of downtown, identified as an area highly impacted by domestic violence, to raise awareness and educate.  

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The objectives come at a time when domestic violence across the state spiked during the COVID-19 pandemic and, to the surprise and horror of advocates, did not return to pre-COVID levels like other states after stay-at-home orders lifted. 

The results of the plan may not be immediately known, but Bridges said she already knows the needs identified would have helped her.  

“If I had resources like that, in the years that I was dealing with abuse, then I think it might have been easier for me to get out,” she said.  

Contact reporter Sarah Nelson at 317-503-7514 or sarah.nelson@indystar.com