CHICAGO-(http://www.finalcall.com)�It wasn�t until a hospital emergency room doctor forced Vickii Coffey to look in a mirror that she saw the toll her first husband�s physical and emotional abuse had taken. "I didn�t recognize myself," Ms. Coffey recalled. She also realized she needed help.

Now as principal owner of Chicago-based Vickii Coffey & Associates, a leading consulting firm specializing in domestic violence and advocacy work, she is one of a growing number of Blacks who are working to stem violence. For too long beating Black women has often been a laughing matter or something few want to talk openly about, advocates say.

According to the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence, 46 percent of women who reported bouts with abuse in 1998 were Black. Yet the center reports, most instances of abuse among Black women are not reported because of no access to telephones and no transportation to get help. In 1998, 960,000 instances of violence by spouses or partners were logged by the Justice Department.

"Violence against women is a huge problem and is persistent. The mainstream attention to the problem is very good, but it hasn�t addressed the issues in the Black community," said Dr. Beth E. Richie, an activist and faculty member in the Department of Criminal Justice and Women�s Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

"As a former social worker, I realized that one of the primary undiscussed issues for women was violence in their lives. It leads to homelessness, serious health problems and limits their ability to be the mothers that they can be. For many years, even the most progressive African American community-based organizations failed to put gender violence on the agenda. Women were suffering, and the issue was being ignored," said Dr. Richie, who is also a research consultant and author.

"The African American community has to take responsibility for the issue. We must have a shift in consciousness and change the status of African American women in their communities. We must develop programs that are culturally specific. We cannot adopt a white feminist perspective and dump it in our community. There are principles that we have that can support our own cultural experience," Dr. Richie added.

For example, research has shown Black women do more group discussions about abuse and emotional issues than other women, she noted. In these settings women open up more and help one another cope, Dr. Richie said. This means that group therapy works better for Black women than white females, who are more prone to one-on-one discussions, she said. Putting a Black female alone with a therapist isn�t the most effective way to help her, Dr. Richie said.

As a survivor, Ms. Coffey knows about harsh struggles and is an example of triumph over abuse. She has a masters degree in clinical social work from the University of Chicago, and a bachelor�s degree in criminal justice from the University of Illinois at Chicago. Her passion is helping others. For 8 years, she served as executive director of the Chicago Abused Women Coalition, which is nationally recognized as one of the most effective agencies for treating abused women and children. Ms. Coffey helped found the Hospital Crisis Intervention Project at Chicago�s Cook County Hospital and the city police department�s Domestic Violence Reduction Program.

She sits on the Nation�s Advisory Council on Violence Against Women, and has won numerous awards�among them the National Crime Victims Service Award from President Clinton and Attorney General Janet Reno.

Today she is working to link federal agencies to advocacy groups. "I�m bringing them to the same table to benefit the full community. This will result in getting a coordinated response to domestic violence through different constituency groups and organizations, who will negotiate roles in improving the quality of life in our community. This helps the government understand the experiences of battered women and what resources are necessary and important. The advocacy also includes looking at what is not working and advocating against the mistakes that harm," Ms. Coffey explained.

According to Dr. Richie, Black women can be especially hurt by neglect, not only from spouses or partners, but also from the criminal justice system.

In low-income communities, Black females are more likely to be charged with crimes during disputes, and more likely to go to jail, than a battered women shelter than other women, she noted. When Black women are the sole providers for their families, they will go to any lengths to stay, and defend themselves and their children, the activist explained.

For 20 years, Dr. Richie has worked with Black women in prison and is developing a program to help jailed women once they are released. For the violence to be dealt with properly, she believes resources to rebuild lives are essential. She is working closely with the Harlem Project, a community organizing initiative that deals with violence against women in the historic Black Mecca.

"While volunteering in local shelters, there were times that women had been so battered, they couldn�t look me in the face�just because I was a man. Some shelters told me that they didn�t want me to volunteer there, for the same reason," said Dr. Oliver J. Williams, a Black male advocate.

"Some men don�t realize that being non-abusive to your wife and children are positive aspects of manhood and fatherhood. Families should be together in a healthy atmosphere. Men may have not had the best relationships with women in their past, but they must focus on their own issues, take ownership and address them. Men must realize that violence only makes a situation worse," he said.

"What Black men deal with on a regular basis is very different from the experience of men from other ethnic groups, so we must handle that stress in a positive way. Racism and poverty are just a few aspects of what Black men experience more of than any other community of men," he pointed out.

One way to help end battering is to get proper counseling and guidance for Black males, Dr. Williams stressed. His 20 years of experience in child welfare, partner abuse treatment and elder maltreatment, have convinced him that proper counseling can help men who have been abusive�and abused�evolve into loving men, who can reach other men.

Dr. Williams, sits on several national advisory boards on domestic violence, is executive director of the Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community and a associate professor at the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis graduate school of social work. He has been praised for his extensive writing and research about Black men who batter.

His research shows Black Americans are twice as likely to be involved in domestic partner abuse than other racial or cultural groups. Men who batter share common traits, such as poor conflict resolution skills and a low tolerance for frustration, Dr. Williams said.

Black men who are violent with other males are more prone to violent relationships with Black women, when compared to other ethnic groups, Dr. Williams added. The men see violence as the way to handle problems, he explained.

Breaking that cycle may lie in blending conventional wisdom with the insight of Black scholars studying the circumstances and behaviors of Black males, Dr. Williams said.

Last year Dr. Williams, Dr. Richie and Ms. Coffey were honored at a national gathering called "The Next Millennium Conference: Ending Domestic Violence." More than 1,700 battered women�s advocates and their allies attended.

Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), ABC News anchor Carole Simpson and Secretary of Health Donna Shalala were among the elected officials and media corespondents who attended workshops.

"Friday and Saturday nights on our block were very interesting. That was when the men got their paychecks, got drunk before they got home, and then beat their wives when they arrived. You could hear the cries and the noise," recalled Ms. Waters. With bruises and injuries, the battered women had to come to work and endure snickers because there was no place to turn to for help, she said. "This still goes on in many places today," the Los Angeles congressman noted.

Ms. Simpson shared a harrowing tale of abuse of an aunt. The journalist was 11-years-old at the time. As she baby-sat her four month old cousin, her "favorite" uncle barged in and started beating his wife. Ms. Simpson tried to stop him. Her uncle threw her against a wall and she fell to the floor. She got up and ran for help. On another occasion, a family friend fled her abusive husband. He followed and stabbed the woman to death in the Simpson�s kitchen, said the reporter.

"We have to see what affect this has on children and we�ve got to help them get through these experiences. I care deeply about this issue and I do not want any other child to go through what I witnessed," Ms. Simpson said.

During the conference, the Women of Color Network Resource Guide, a compilation of 60 programs and over 260 stories of women working to prevent domestic violence, was distributed.

Alice Lynch, of Black, Indian, Hispanic and Asian Women in Action (BIHA) in Minneapolis, said it is important for these women to collaborate for change in their communities and lives.

"What we�ve found concludes that if a women is battered, she has about 10 other issues that she needs to deal with," explained Ms. Lynch. Her group seeks to help women set and accomplish goals, and work on their leadership skills. The group also stresses that men of color must join male oriented anti-violence programs. "It is critical that our men become involved in this issue because they are the ones that need to talk to our young brothers," said one activist.