New plan to address disproportionate impact of domestic violence on Black women

A local nonprofit unveiled a plan to reduce the number of domestic violence cases for Black women in Indianapolis.

The Domestic Violence Network, or DVN, revealed its three-year plan called ‘Beyond Equity,’ on Tuesday. DVN is focused on changing systems that lead to violence in Central Indiana

The plan aims to examine why Black and African American women are disproportionately affected by domestic violence.

According to a press release from the DVN, “Black and African American women are 2.5 times more likely to experience domestic violence than white females, yet less likely to utilize services.”

It’s estimated around 29 percent of Black and African American women are victimized by an intimate partner in their lifetimes. That’s according to the National Institutes of Health.

Jimmie Bridges is a domestic violence survivor. She said Beyond Equity is a great start to addressing the root cause of domestic violence in the Black community.

“For domestic violence survivors, we need to go beyond that,” she said. “We need equity.”

A key component of the plan is to work with Black women from the community, like Bridges, to lower domestic violence instances. Other parts of the plan include improved provider training, more community resources and restorative justice programming.

Mayor Joe Hogsett attended the event in support of the new plan.

“I want to encourage all Central Indiana communities to rally in support of this new plan and behind this new initiative,” he said.

This is the DVN’s the 6th community-wide plan in Central Indiana.

Contact WFYI Morning Edition newscaster and reporter Abriana Herron at aherron@wfyi.org.