Casa de Esperanza and its national project, The National Latin@ Network for Healthy Families and Communities, compiled the resources for this collection which reflects many years of work at the intersections of gender-based violence and Latin@ communities. Many of the resources were developed by Casa de Esperanza while several were produced by other Latin@ organizations doing culturally specific work. Through shared experiences working at the intersections of domestic violence and Latin@ communities, many of the organizations represented here learned that effective responses to this problem require a culturally specific analysis with culturally relevant tools and approaches. Of equal importance is engaging communities to effectively respond to domestic violence. Understanding and honoring the great diversity that exists within Latin@ communities is a key component in delivering effective interventions and trauma-informed responses to address the violence. To that end, this special collection provides a compilation of tools and resources developed specifically by Latin@s and for Latin@s as well as culturally adapted materials (not simply translations) to address domestic violence in Latin@ communities. The content included within is not comprehensive, as there is much work taking place not only in the U.S. but also across Latin America. It is our intent to continue adding resources overtime and we count on readers to also provide recommended additions.
This special collection:
- Introduces the framework and philosophy of Casa de Esperanza as a foundation to its trauma-informed work.
- Defines relevant terms within the context of domestic violence in Latin@ communities from a social justice perspective.
- Provides culturally specific resources and tools that address domestic violence within the Latin@ context related to policy, research and service provision.
- Offers a list of Latin@ specific organizations addressing violence against women in the U.S.