The power of the collective: battered migrant farmworker women creating safe spaces.
In this article I describe the use of a participatory action research (PAR) methodology to address the problem of domestic violence among migrant farmworker (MFW) women in California. The article was generated from a variety of data sources used by the investigator over a 4-year period. These include the investigator's observations, field notes, informal conversations, written stories from the women, and interviews. The "power of the collective" is discussed as the development of a power base for battered MFW women to support and take care of one another. The concepts of liberation, enlightenment, and "conscientizacion" are used to describe the evolution of the collective.
Rodriguez
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School of Nursing, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio 78284-7950, USA. rodriguezra@uthscsa.edu
D000328:Adult; D018585:Battered Women / Q000523:psychology*; D002140:California; D019058:Community Networks; D003159:Community-Institutional Relations; D005260:Female; D006126:Group Processes; D006302:Health Services Research; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008875:Middle Aged; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D011209:Power, Psychological; D012657:Self-Help Groups / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012944:Social Support; D013179:Spouse Abuse / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology*; D014171:Transients and Migrants / Q000523:psychology*; D014933:Women's Rights