Eliminating Barriers to Services for Latina Survivors of Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence

The following recommendations are presented in this document:

1. Work to assure that staffing patterns adequately reflect the demographics of the population being served.
2. Agencies should include a specific description of the bilingual services offered in the organization's brochures and/or website.
3. Establish criteria for measuring an agency's level of bilingual services.
4. Promote multicultural inclusion within an agency's board of directors.
5. Respect diversity within diversity and dialect variance issues within the Latino/a community by incorporating language accessibility and cultural competency into all mandated staff and volunteer training.
6. Earmark certain funds for second-language materials, bilingual staff, interpreters, etc.
7. All program staff, substitutes, and volunteers (not just Spanish-speaking staff and volunteers) should receive training in victim's language rights and in how to advocate for those rights.
8. All program staff, substitutes, and volunteers should be trained in how to work with an interpreter.