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People experiencing domestic violence require support in a welcoming environment with people who understand the multiple cultures and identities they carry. This factors in everything that makes a person unique: age, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, race, customs, and more. In California, an ethnically and racially diverse state, culturally responsive organizations have a deep understanding of community needs and often use holistic strategies to nurture healing.
Korean American Family Services (KFAM) provides culturally and linguistically tailored services for Korean immigrant survivors of gender-based violence in Los Angeles. Many experience hardships with housing because of language barriers, lack of knowledge about systems in the U.S., visa and immigration status issues, bad or no credit, and more. Some publicly available resources are limited to individuals with permanent residency and those who read English. Sunhee Kim, gender-based violence program director, said, “A lot of times, we see that existing programs and resources are not enough for our survivors due to many reasons. As a culturally responsive/specific program, our role is to make sure that they get the support that they deserve in a way that can serve them right.”
When facing homelessness, many KFAM clients have said that it is important not to be separated from their close-knit community support network. These relationships provide everyday safety and support with healing. KFAM’s community-based housing programs prevent immigrant survivors from being displaced. While their journey may start with emergency housing, bilingual Korean advocates help them build housing and economic stability over time with the Domestic Violence Housing First Model.
Through their Voz de La Mujer Indígena (Voz) program, Mixteco/Indígena Community Organizing Project (MICOP) supports Indigenous survivors who migrate from the Mexican states of Oaxaca, Guerrero, and Michoacán, including Mixtecs, Zapotecs, and Purépechas. Upon arriving in the United States, many survivors heavily depend upon their spouses for financial support, housing, transportation, and access to community resources. This reliance is compounded by the fact that many are monolingual in their Indigenous languages and lack formal education, making it difficult for them to read or write in Spanish or English. Additionally, Indigenous men often make key decisions regarding the family’s living arrangements, size, and the type of work women can pursue. As a result of their linguistic isolation, Indigenous migrant communities have formed tightly knit enclaves throughout California, often in agricultural areas. These communities can be difficult for service providers to access, as a deep lack of trust exists due to past experiences of marginalization and exploitation.
MICOP’s Voz de la Mujer Indígena (Voice of the Indigenous Woman) program is built from a Promotora model, where well-trained domestic violence case managers are hired directly from the community. They take a holistic approach to supporting survivors by ensuring that they can speak with someone who understands their language—such as Mixteco—and their unique needs. Voz’s case management provides a person-centered approach, emphasizing active listening, validation of survivors' emotions, and a deep understanding of their experiences. To meet their basic needs for safety, MICOP helps survivors navigate complex systems like the legal process, courtrooms, public transportation, and partner agencies like the Ventura County Family Justice Center. Through the Curando la Comunidad program (Healing the Community or Na’ Sanaeé Nañueé in Mixteco), the organization addresses the trauma domestic violence has on mental health—especially stress, anxiety, and depression. Curando la Comunidad provides support through traditional Indigenous practices like plant medicine, energy work, and more.
For survivors of sexual and domestic violence who live on the Yurok Reservation, sparse roads and hard terrain alongside Klamath River create sweeping distances people must travel to access support services. Vicky Bates, victim services shelter manager at Yurok Tribe’s Hey-wech-ek’ (Domestic Violence/Sexual Assault) Program, said that though the reservation is large and beautiful, this creates significant barriers in an emergency. Survivors must make tough decisions about whether it is safer to report violence or find somewhere to flee. If they are able to access support, it becomes difficult to find temporary and permanent housing: “There is not enough housing, and if there is housing, it is too expensive to afford,” said Bates. “This is the biggest issue we have with assisting our domestic violence situations.”
Amid these obstacles, Bates works to create long-term safety and stability for the survivors she works with: “If they have kids, we hook them up with schools. We can also connect them to the TANF [Temporary Assistance for Needy Families] program or the social services program. For Native people, it’s sometimes scary to go through police and social services. They are still nervous because of boarding schools. We try to do as much as possible in-house, and reassure people that no one will see their name or their abuser’s name. It’s confidential.” From 1869 to the 1960s, the U.S. government violently separated Native parents and children, forcing them to abandon their language and culture. To protect against violence, the Yurok Tribe focuses on effective approaches like nurturing feelings of belonging and strengthening connections to culture. Bates says that youth get involved in traditional dances, and go home to share what they experienced with their family: “We just had a Jump Dance, which stands for world renewal. My family holds the fire and we dance and camp near the river for 10 days. Men stomp their feet to stomp down the bad and bring the basket up to dance for the good.”
Jenesse Center’s approach to violence prevention focuses on building resilience and challenging oppression that contributes to abuse. Founded in 1980 by five Black survivors of domestic violence, the organization has provided culturally responsive services in Los Angeles ever since. Dr. Angela Parker, director of community engagement and education, works with youth to build strong self-identities that go beyond interactions with intimate partners. Navigating the development of these identities takes place under enormous pressure: “Youth decide who they’re supposed to be based on social media or what their friends are doing. Mostly because they don’t have the tools to create their own narrative.” Through social-emotional learning in school trainings—often led by youth themselves in the JenerationJ program—participants gain an understanding of healthy relationships with themselves and others. They also learn about bystander intervention, anti-bullying and anti-racism strategies.
Maitri, based in Santa Clara County, is working to address the high prevalence of violence against women by engaging men and boys, primarily from South Asian communities. “In South Asian communities, pervasive gender biases, patriarchal values, and the normalization of certain forms of violence often frame intimate partner violence(IPV) as a private or women’s issue, leaving men largely absent from the conversation,” said Nandini Ray, senior manager of outreach, prevention and policy advocacy. “Even many popular South Asian movies, literature, and customs justify male privilege and violence against women. Thus we felt a need to raise awareness addressing these harmful social and community conditions that contribute to and enable violence against women. However, we noticed South Asian men are not comfortable attending talks or presentations on IPV and family violence as they see it as a women’s issue. At Maitri’s community sessions and campaigns, male attendance is noticeably poor. Maitri struggled to find a better way to reach South Asian men, so we launched a groundbreaking social media campaign to engage them as allies. By inviting influential men to share their understanding of this issue and solutions to it, the campaign opened new avenues for dialogue with men.”
Asked the provocative question, “Why do you think that domestic violence is considered a women’s issue?”, young and adult men write about deconstructing rigid beliefs on gender that contribute to abuse—and influence other men and boys to think differently about these issues as well. Aman Singh wrote, “Cultural and religious influences can also have an impact because societies reinforce traditional gender roles and expectations that may legitimize control and dominance. Society and shame play a huge part in gender power dynamics…” Emerging evidence shows that social norms change is an effective form of violence prevention—and specifically, enlisting men as messengers contributes to attitude shifts toward increased gender equity.
For more information about culturally responsive approaches to domestic violence, visit the Culturally Responsive Domestic Violence Network website.
