“White Privilege, Color Blindness, and Services to Battered Women”

Source: (2004) Violence Against Women. 11(1); 6-37.

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.