From the moment Dr. Carolyn West speaks, her passion for protecting Black women from intimate partner violence resonates with unmistakable urgency. As a professor of clinical psychology with over three decades dedicated to researching gender-based violence in marginalized communities, she brings profound insights into what she calls a "triple pandemic" that devastated Black women during 2020: COVID-19, domestic violence, and racial terrorism.
The statistics Dr. West shares are sobering: approximately 1,820 Black women murdered in a single year—four to five deaths daily that rarely made headlines. This invisibility isn't accidental. As she explains, "Domestic violence thrives on silence, secrecy, and shame," particularly when systems designed to protect women fail those at society's intersections.
Dr. West's Technical Assistance Guidance Series (TAGS) emerged from this crisis, offering a revolutionary framework for providing culturally responsive care to Black women survivors. Moving beyond one-size-fits-all approaches, she advocates for survivor-centered services that consider the full spectrum of a woman's identity and experience. Her "web of trauma" concept brilliantly illustrates how historical trauma, institutional violence, poverty, community dangers, and harmful cultural stereotypes compound the impact of intimate partner abuse.
Particularly illuminating is her discussion of reproductive coercion and non-fatal strangulation—dangerous forms of control that disproportionately affect Black women yet often go unrecognized. For medical professionals and advocates alike, understanding these specific vulnerabilities can mean the difference between life and death, especially during high-risk periods like pregnancy.
What makes Dr. West's approach transformative is her insistence on seeing survivors' strength alongside their trauma. By rejecting both "colorblind" approaches that ignore racial disparities and deficit-focused models that overlook resilience, she offers a pathway to healing that honors the whole person.
Whether you're a service provider seeking to improve your practice or someone concerned about violence in your community, this conversation provides invaluable insights into creating safer spaces for survivors. The TAGS resources, available for free download, represent Dr. West's gift to a field desperately needing her wisdom.
Ready to learn more about culturally responsive approaches to intimate partner violence? Visit drcarolynwest.com or contact Genesis Women's Shelter and Support at 214-946-HELP (4357).
