A&M International Students, Faculty Present at National Conference

Six members of the Texas A&M International University student organization Tau Sigma Chi (Criminal Justice Scholar's Club) and their faculty sponsor presented at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences 1999 Annual Meeting in Orlando, Florida.

The A&M International students are Lilly Castillo, Cynthia Garza, Edgar Garza, Enrique Martinez, Christina Peña, and Esmeralda Ramirez.

They presented a roundtable discussion on the incidence of domestic violence in the Hispanic community, with particular emphasis on Laredo. Their discussion detailed demographic differences in the incidence of spouse abuse in Hispanics versus other ethnic groups. The students also examined the social factors that produce family violence with particular attention given to the structural and cultural institution of patriarchy in society in general and specifically in the Latino subculture.

Dr. Delilah Dotremon, assistant professor of criminal justice and Tau Sigma Chi faculty sponsor, presented "A Statistical Profile of Victims of Domestic Violence and Their Batterers in a Border Community." The presentation centered on an evaluation study she conducted on the Domestic Violence Unit of the Webb County District Attorney's Office. The study, which was required under a grant from the Violence Against Women Act, documented the number of clients served and the types of services provided to victims of domestic violence, and presented a profile of the demographic characteristics of both victims and batterers in a border community. It also judged and proposed improvements for the planning, monitoring, effectiveness and efficiency of services given by the Domestic Violence Unit.

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