Building Trust and Collaboration

In order to adequately respond to the unique needs of Deaf survivors, trust and collaboration must be established and maintained between the Deaf community, domestic and sexual violence organizations, and other institutions and segments of society at large. Cross training and education are very useful for raising awareness of domestic violence, identifying allies, and building collaborative relationships between hearing advocates and institutions and the Deaf community. Most importantly, recognizing and rooting out audism and biases towards Deaf, Deaf-Blind, and signing people are paramount.

To become effective allies in the prevention and intervention of domestic and sexual violence, it is critical that the Deaf community supports non-violence, learns about the prevalence and dynamics of domestic and sexual violence, holds perpetrators accountable, and properly refers victims to expert, lifesaving help. In turn, it is crucial that hearing providers fully engage and collaborate with leaders in the Deaf community in order to provide effective services for Deaf individuals. Learning about Deaf culture, developing policies for providing accessible services, and recruiting and training volunteer Deaf/Signing advocates, are all key steps which hearing agencies can take toward ensuring that their services are culturally and linguistically appropriate.

In this section, the enclosed Deaf Community Accountability Wheel depicts the ideal response, within the Deaf community, to domestic and sexual violence. A Q and A provides concrete ideas to domestic and sexual violence agencies for building trust with the deaf community. Taken together, resources in this section highlight the importance of communication, cross training, and collaboration for effectively working with Deaf survivors of domestic and sexual violence.