White Privilege, Color Blindness, and Services to Battered Women

• Published in: Violence against women 2005-01, Vol.11 (1), p.6-37
• Main Authors: Donnelly, Denise A., Cook, Kimberly J., van Ausdale, Debra, Foley, Lara
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: African Americans; African Americans - statistics & numerical data; Alabama; Attitude of Health Personnel; Battered Women; Battered Women - statistics & numerical data; Counseling services; Domestic violence; European Continental Ancestry Group - statistics & numerical data; Female; Georgia; Health Services Accessibility - standards; Health Services Needs and Demand - standards; Health Services Research; Humans; Minority Groups; Mississippi; Privilege; Qualitative analysis; Qualitative research; Racial bias; Service provision; Sheltered accommodation; Sheltered housing; Shelters; Southern States; Support services; Surveys and Questionnaires; United States; USA; White people; Whites; Women's Health; Women's Health Services - standards
• ISSN: 1077-8012; 1552-8448
• DOI: 10.1177/1077801204271431

White privilege is a system of benefits, advantages, and opportunities experienced by White persons in our society simply because of their skin color. In this article, the authors present the results of a descriptive, exploratory study of White privilege in battered women’s shelters in the Deep South. Based on a qualitative analysis, the authors show how White privilege is intricately connected to executive directors’ claims of color blindness, the othering of women of color, and viewing White as the norm. The authors conclude the article with implications for service provision to battered women and directions for future research.