November 17, 2025 • 25 mins
When Hispanic survivors of intimate partner violence seek help, they face a gauntlet of unique cultural barriers that can make safety seem impossible. From family members who prioritize appearances over protection to faith leaders who frame abuse as a spiritual test, the path to safety is fraught with roadblocks that extend far beyond language differences alone.
Teresa Gallegos, Director of Outreach and Accessibility at the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence, brings profound insights to these challenges. Drawing from her experience as a nationally credentialed advocate, immigrant, and sibling survivor, Teresa walks us through powerful scenarios that illustrate how these cultural dynamics play out in real life. She explains why simply translating existing materials into Spanish misses the mark and how her groundbreaking "Juntos le ayudamos" (Together We Will Help Them) campaign took a fundamentally different approach.
Instead of targeting survivors directly, this innovative campaign focused on "comadres" and "compadres" – the trusted allies who serve as crucial lifelines when survivors finally decide to share their stories. Teresa reveals how her team crafted culturally-specific radio spots, billboards, WhatsApp messages, and even old-school tear-off flyers that resonated with Hispanic communities across Kansas. Most powerfully, she shares how seeing these Spanish-language resources gives survivors a profound sense of validation: "You matter enough for someone to do this."
Whether you're a service provider looking to better reach Hispanic communities or someone who might one day be that trusted "comadre" for a survivor, this conversation offers concrete strategies and commitment statements that can make all the difference. Join us to learn how small actions – from exploring your local grocery store's community board to implementing language access policies – can create pathways to safety for Hispanic survivors in your community.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Earlier this year, we met with presenters at the 2025
Conference on Crimes AgainstWomen in Dallas, texas.
In this episode, my guest,teresa Gallegos, a nationally
credentialed advocate and thedirector of Outreach and
Accessibility at the KansasCoalition Against Sexual and
Domestic Violence, joins theshow to discuss the strategies
that support Hispanic survivorsof intimate partner violence.
(00:21):
I'm Maria McMullin and this isGenesis, the podcast.
Teresa Gallegos is a nationallycredentialed advocate and the
Director of Outreach andAccessibility at the Kansas
Coalition Against Sexual andDomestic Violence.
Previously, she served as theDirector of Education and
(00:42):
Training and the Sexual AssaultAdvocacy Response Coordinator,
playing a key role in the KansasSexual Assault Kit Initiative,
also known as SAKI.
Before her work at thecoalition, she was the Human
Trafficking Victim AssistanceCoordinator at the YMCA, where
she supported survivors of humantrafficking, domestic and
sexual violence.
Ms Gallegos is also a dedicatedvolunteer for Kansas Concerns
(01:06):
of Police Survivors.
Inspired by her own experienceas a sibling survivor, as an
immigrant and a mother of achild with a disability, she
focuses on engaging underservedpopulations through outreach and
public speaking.
Moreover, her holistic approachfosters collaboration and
understanding, enhancing supportsystems.
(01:30):
Teresa, welcome to the show, hi,thank you.
Thank you for having me.
We are here at the 2025Conference on Crimes Against
Women.
Just talking with differentpresenters and speakers at the
conference, which occursannually in May in Dallas, texas
, and your presentation isincredibly important, especially
to Genesis, because about 50%of clients at Genesis Women's
Shelter and Support in Dallas,texas, are Hispanic.
(01:51):
So we've that our Hispanicclients have unique needs,
cultural needs that we may notalways know about and you know
we need to check in with themabout.
(02:12):
So you've been doing somesimilar work and identified some
of the unique barriers andneeds of Hispanic survivors.
Tell us about the barriers theyface and how they may be unique
to their own culture.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
A great question.
So what we learned is thatthere are many barriers that
they face, and a lot of them arerooted in cultural beliefs and
are very much as like sanctityof the household, which is there
.
Are these values that you knownot to ask for help.
So there really presents a lotof walls and unavailable
(02:51):
resources, because it's aboutnot asking for help and it's
about the guilt and the shame.
What I would like to share withyou is walking through some
scenarios that highlight thosebarriers and a very small
glimpse of some of thebreakthroughs that can happen
for survivors.
So I'll start out with thescenario that I want to share.
(03:13):
We're going to call this personor name her Elena.
The example or scenario is hegets angry if I go out or talk
to people.
Once he pushed me when I triedto leave the house.
He said if I ever told anyone,he would report me to
immigration and I would neversee my kids again.
I know it's not as bad as whathappens to other women, but I
(03:35):
feel scared all the time.
So one of the scenarios isElena will go to her brother and
the brother's response is youmarried him, I have got my own
family.
This is making us look bad.
So what that does?
It presents a barrier and it'sa teaching point about the
machismo and the stigma thatcould create challenges that
(03:59):
isolate survivors and strainfamilial support.
Another scenario is sometimesthere's a referral or reference
to a faith leader.
The response in that couldpotentially be, or has been
maybe the Lord is testing yourfaith.
Marriage is about sacrifice, soas service providers, it's just
(04:19):
.
It creates a challenge.
So it's important to honor theperson's faith and honor their
experience with their religiousmembers and the relationship
that they may have in thatcommunity.
It's knowing that framing couldsilence a survivor, but also
knowing that spirituality can bea strength but also a pressure
at the same time.
(04:39):
I'll share another scenario tohighlight or show what another
barrier that happens often is.
They will go to a schoolcounselor or the counselor may
call them in and say yourdaughter is struggling and it's
clear something at home isaffecting her.
As a mother, it's your job toprotect her from that kind of
environment.
So that's a big barrier becauseit puts the blame on the mother
(05:02):
for the effects of the domesticviolence and it puts everything
on her not being a good motherto the child.
So it assumes equalresponsibility between the
victim and the abuser.
Also, it's a missed opportunity.
Sometimes when people are intrauma, it's difficult to
articulate what you're feelingwhat you're wanting to say.
So offering an opportunity tohave an interpreter, have a
(05:26):
translator, is really importantand crucial, and so it just kind
of deepens the mistrust there.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
What I hear also in just those three scenarios,
especially in two of them.
So in the first one, she goesto her brother, a loved one, a
person that she trusts, respects, believes.
You know he feels the same wayabout her and he does not do
anything to address what'shappening to her, only how her
coming to him, potentiallygetting involved, would impact
(05:55):
his own family.
So you completely dismiss herclaims of domestic violence or
abuse that she's suffering.
The second one was the faithleader.
Again, she holds this faithleader in high esteem, trust
them completely, potentiallythat you know that they are her
spiritual advisor and they donothing to address what the
(06:16):
abuse that she is suffering.
I think that further diminishesthe person who's experiencing
abuse, and we need to.
Hopefully our audience is doingsome active listening right now
and thinking about oh hey, youknow I shouldn't be a bystander
either.
I should not be focusing on howit's going to impact me, but
only how I can support thatsurvivor.
(06:38):
And then the third example was,to your astute points, giving
equal blame to both the victimand the abuser for what was
happening and how it wasimpacting the child, which is
just inherently wrong.
It's a wrong response.
Are school counselors receivingeducation about how to respond
to when they perceive there maybe violence in the home.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
It's my understanding that they are, but it may be
different state to state.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
I'm just curious, like in your state, in Kansas,
is there something in place?
Speaker 2 (07:08):
In Kansas.
It's my understanding that it'spart of like their onboarding,
that they receive X amount ofhours and training and different
kinds of trauma and anythingwithin their professional
development.
But what I also am aware of isthat it's on them to seek out
learning sessions or trainingopportunities that develop and
continue to build on what theyalready know and what they're
(07:30):
constantly learning, so it maynot be required to educate.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
continuing education no, no.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Was there another scenario?
There is one scenario that iskind of a breakthrough.
Mm-hmm, it is.
Anna is the co-worker, and theco-worker Anna says my ex was
like that, there's a place thathelped me, you are not alone.
There's a breakthrough here,but I think it's that the good
thing about sharing the scenariois that it just kind of
(07:57):
highlights and speaks to how ouroutreach is so important.
So you have allies, potentiallythroughout communities or in
the public, but you know, notevery Elena has Ana.
That's a co worker, right.
So we walk through all of thesescenarios and there were a
couple other littlebreakthroughs here but also pros
(08:18):
and cons and just realizingthat sometimes people are very
isolated and they have no oneelse.
They are not able to go andspeak with a neighbor, or they
don't have a Doña Rosa you knowin their neighborhood that she
could really go to, and what welearn in the Hispanic
communities is that oftentimesthere is someone in the
community that's your go-toperson, but what if you can't
(08:40):
even go to that go-to personbecause of threats?
Speaker 1 (08:44):
So yeah, I think it's very challenging for victims of
domestic violence to determinewho might be a safe person for
them, especially if theirabusive partner has friendships
or relationships with the sameperson that she may be thinking
of talking to.
So there are a lot of concernsto take into consideration for
(09:04):
her own safety and her ownwell-being.
Now, out of these scenarios,you developed a toolkit that
helps to raise awareness aboutservices in order to increase
client engagement.
Tell us about that campaign andhow it was successful.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
Our campaign came about a few years ago and keep
in mind some of it might havebeen due to COVID, but what we
realized is that our memberprograms, programs in Kansas
that are providing directservice to victims and survivors
there was a significant lowparticipation or low people
reaching out and asking for help.
(09:40):
So KCSDB partnered with Puente,who is a marketing company in
Kansas, and they did a lot ofresearch in Kansas.
There's some statisticalinformation that came through
and what it highlighted is thatthe population of Hispanics is
growing nationally, but it'salso growing in Kansas and
(10:02):
actually it's growingsignificantly higher in Kansas.
So the opportunity is there tohelp people and so it came about
that the goal was really toraise awareness and also
encourage survivors to come andseek the help of the services
that are available to themThrough the research, through
the foundings.
As we talked a little bit, wefound that in Hispanic
(10:23):
communities it's difficult forpeople to ask and reach for help
, and especially difficult toask for help when you want to
talk to someone about somethingas personal as domestic violence
or sexual violence, but it'seven more personal to talk about
it, like you said, or wementioned, strangers.
So what we took is we took adifferent approach.
(10:44):
Instead of translating orinterpreting things that have
already been created, we knewthat in order to have trust, we
needed to go a step further.
So we just strongly believethat, because of the Hispanic
community and how trust is sucha big piece and such an
important family-knit communityfoundation that is in there,
(11:04):
that there is someone in theircommunity that they trust.
So we really hung on to thatand at the core of the campaign
we talked about that beforesomeone's going to share what
has happened to them, they haveto trust them.
So our approach was thinkingabout in the Hispanic culture
there's the term of endearmentlike comadre or compadre, which
is like a best friend.
(11:26):
So we really wanted thatfeeling of that person, not so
much the comadre or compadre,but what feeling does that
person give you and its trust.
So that's how Juntos LeAyudamos, which is the tagline
that we ended with, which is,together, we will help them.
(11:47):
And what we did is we wanted toconnect with the comadres and
the compadres, the allies outthere, and the materials were
developed in Spanish for thatperson, because we know, for
those of us that do outreach,and you know someone that is a
victim, survivor of domesticviolence, sexual violence, is
(12:07):
least likely to come to yourtable, especially when they see
your name in the title.
But if it's for someone youknow, they're more likely to do
that.
So we really wanted that person, that comadre, compadre and our
information was developed andcreated in a way that really
connects with the Hispanicculture.
We used words that are veryrhyming in Spanish, there's like
(12:30):
corridos, and words that arereally catchy and rhyming.
So some of the content that wasdeveloped an example is si
sospechas de maltrato, ayúdalede inmediato.
So if you think of like, I'mnot going to try to say Okay.
So the content was developedand created in Spanish.
(12:51):
The words were speaking to theHispanic culture, the colors
were to the Hispanic culture andwe created not only the content
in Spanish and all of that, butalso the materials and the
assets were created in a way ofwhat connects with that
community.
Across the state of Kansas, forexample, in Garden City and
(13:13):
Dodge City, which are way morerural parts of Kansas, we
learned that there's a radiostation.
That's how most people gettheir communication through that
.
That's how most people gettheir communication through that
.
So we created Spanish radiosegments Also, knowing that
Univision is very popularthrough different parts of the
(13:34):
state of Kansas.
We created 15 second and 30second commercials.
There were billboards that werecreated.
There were flyers with the tagwhere you pull off the phone
number.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
I know that sounds really old school.
Well, I mean, it sounds likeyou're speaking to your audience
, to what is going to bemeaningful to your audience.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Yeah, so those are the things that we created
because that example was theywanted that in the grocery
stores because someone is morelikely to potentially go to one
of those grocery stores and caneasily access that information.
So that's how the content cameabout.
I spoke to some of thematerials and assets that were
(14:12):
created during for the HispanicToolkit Awareness Campaign.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
So I know you're trying to create awareness about
services, but it also soundslike you're trying to cultivate
engagement from the community tobe open to hearing about
experiences of domestic violenceof people that they may not
actually know.
Is that accurate?
Yes, that's accurate.
And how does that work for them?
What is the process for them tobecome involved?
(14:38):
Do they have to go to some typeof training or group or call
and say I want to be able tohelp people, or is it just this
idea that you want them to beopen to receiving the
information and then pointpeople in the direction of
services?
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Yeah.
So it's really about publicawareness.
It's about saying to everyoneif you know someone that is
going through this, you know youfeel like they trust you and
they have shared thatinformation.
It's up to you to takeownership of that and learn
about what is available to themand then, once they trust you,
then you take them to where thatservice is.
(15:15):
So it's really about invitingeveryone in the community to
learn more about what servicesare available to them for people
that when they are ready toseek help and ask for support.
The awareness campaign was verymore around, broad, around the
state of Kansas.
First of all, just theawareness that this happens
(15:38):
sexual violence, domesticviolence happens but also really
start the conversation.
The reality is that it's broad,it's all over the place.
There are people that don'teven want to talk about sexual
violence or domestic violenceand there are people that have
learned about it through.
You know others that hashappened to them or they have
learned about it in school.
But it's really about for us,as the public, to take another
(16:01):
step further and learn andeducate ourselves about what's
available and what's out there.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Yeah, I think those are critical points to
supporting people and meetingthem where they are.
You also have a unique way toincrease provider engagement
with Hispanic survivors throughwriting commitment statements.
How does that?
Speaker 2 (16:20):
work.
What I've learned in myexperience is that I really
learn a lot going to trainings,taking a step further and
attending a session and takingnotes.
But the action statement wasreally carved out time for
everyone to sit and, you know,think of three things like what
is one actionable thing that youcan take with you once you
(16:41):
leave this room?
So it was really about we spentsome time throughout the entire
session working through,discussing the barriers, talking
about the awareness campaign.
But now how do you do somethingwith this?
What is your next step?
What is one thing that you willimplement at your member
program or in providing servicesfor victims and survivors,
(17:02):
whether if you're in thehealthcare field, law
enforcement, criminal justicesystem, educator.
So we sat down and talked aboutthese are the things that I can
do today.
It's one thing, but long-term,this is what my agency can do,
whether if that was implementingpolicies and procedures that
really addressed how do we makesure that we're providing
(17:26):
interpreter services andtranslation services to every
person that walks in ourbuilding or walks in our office,
or that we're helping write aincident report.
For there were some personalcommitments that were talked
about, that were shared.
One example that someone stayedwith me after the session and
said when I go back home I'mgoing to walk back in my town
(17:48):
and I want to explore what thegrocery store looks like in my
community and that is reallygoing to open up my eyes to
learn more about how people areaccessing information.
They may not even know that weexist in our town.
So that may seem really minimal, but it's really broadened her
experience of wanting to learnmore about culture and how
(18:11):
people would connect to them.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
I think that's really interesting though, because, as
I reflect on the, explore hergrocery store to see how people
are accessing information.
If I think about the grocerystore in my community, I don't
recall seeing any flyers.
Everything's so digitized right.
So everywhere we go it's adigital sign, it's a flat screen
, but I don't recall seeing anytypes of billboards anymore with
(18:33):
flyers and phone numbers thatyou can tear off.
Is that practical in Kansas topost stuff?
Speaker 2 (18:39):
like that.
Yeah, it is I actually.
About a week and a half ago Iwalked in.
There's a grocery store in myhometown and I walked in there
and I asked my daughter.
I said do you see any of thesekind of things in the town?
She's away at college.
Oh okay, she's away at college.
So she came home and she waslike no, mom, I don't see those
(19:01):
where I'm at, but I do see themhere.
So maybe it's a Kansas thing,but I do see them, I see them
there.
But I do know that when I go toa couple different grocery
stores that when you walk inthere are some signs and people
still like post things up there.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
Okay, I think that's great Because, in addition to
speaking to your audience, youhave to message to your
community in a way that they'reactually going to be able to
receive it, whether it's flyersor some other opportunity.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Yeah, one of the other things that we created
with the toolkit was somemessages that people could copy
and paste, and we learned that alot of people use the WhatsApp.
That was one example that weused is copy and paste, like I
learned about this organizationthat provides this kind of
support if you know someone, sothat's being like a comadre, you
(19:52):
know sharing it, right, if youknow someone that may need this
kind of help, and so it's a copyand paste so that people could
use it in the WhatsApp.
Same thing with social mediathe toolkit we created where
someone could easily postsomething on their organization,
social media, and it's alreadybeen translated and it was
(20:12):
developed in Spanish.
Good, so, with the imaging thatmatches the community that
we're wanting to have themaccess.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
What's the response been from the community and from
survivors?
Speaker 2 (20:25):
I don't have as much access to that information
personally, professionally, butI do hear from some of the
advocates that are doing thatwork that have seen the flyers
or have seen the billboards.
The most response that I'vereceived is from the billboards
in the Wichita area.
Just because they know that I'mconnected to that.
It's a lot of like proud thatthis is important to us.
(20:49):
I'm doing air quotes that thisis important enough for us to be
doing something like that.
Yes, so I know.
I saw it in the Kansas Cityarea.
Our member program there, moxa,who is in the Kansas City area.
They launched a big campaignand it was shared with me that
they also had it inside thebuses and I heard feedback.
(21:12):
I didn't hear it from survivorsbecause I don't do direct work
and I don't receive those calls,but I did learn from one of the
advocates and she mentionedthat someone else she was
working with.
But it's the pride of knowingthat people like you mean enough
for someone to do that, to havethat on a billboard.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
I think I completely understand what you're saying to
feel like you.
Who is reading this in Spanishin a way that directly speaks to
you?
You matter, what's happening toyou matters, and there are
people who, to your point, careenough about you and your
experience to want to give youopportunities to access services
(22:04):
and information.
Yeah, and I've heard that fromother survivors as well, who've
been on the show, kind ofsometimes in the opposite way.
Like you know, immigrants fromother countries who came to the
United States experienceddomestic violence, and law
enforcement would not respond totheir calls because it was as
if they did not matter, forwhatever reason.
(22:24):
That could be lots of reasons,and I think that this campaign
is a great expression of that.
We all matter.
Every life matters and weshould take care of each other
right, especially when it'sdomestic violence.
Before I let you go, what aresome commitment statements that
people could maybe take actionon today?
Like, just give us ideas ofwhat people have said to you.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
I brought some with me and then I can share a couple
from today's session.
There was quite a few peoplethat stayed back.
I will connect with a bilingualadvocate to better understand
language access barriers.
That was a personal, Aprofessional is.
I will implementtrauma-informed practices that
reduce fear of authority wheninteracting with immigrant
(23:04):
survivors.
That one was shared about twoyears ago in one of my other
sessions and then I willimplement partnerships with
Spanish language media to raiseawareness about available
survivor services, and that isone of the ones that really
worked through the state ofKansas and ensuring that this
was launched in one of theircommunities.
(23:26):
Yeah, and from today.
Today it was the one about thegrocery that was really
impactful the grocery store.
One about the that was reallyimpactful the grocery store and
maybe it's because it's so ithappened so recently to me about
a week and a half ago, when Iwent and walked into a grocery
store and I saw flyers andthings like that with the tear
off information.
The other one they wanted toknow if one of their commitments
(23:50):
is to bring in trainers orpresenters that talk more about
the development of the contentin Spanish and culturally
specific.
They're from a location inTennessee.
I don't remember the exactlocation, but they have my
number and are going to go backand speak with our leadership
about bringing in someone thatcan speak from professional and
personal experience for theirstaff.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
That's amazing.
I'm so glad you made thoseconnections and I'm so glad that
you brought this information tothe over 2000 people attending
the conference on crimes againstwomen.
Thank you so much for talkingwith me today.
Thank you, thank you for havingme here.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Genesis Women's Shelter and Support exists to
give women in abusive situationsa way out.
We are committed to our missionof providing safety, shelter
and support for women andchildren who have experienced
domestic violence, and to raiseawareness regarding its cause,
prevalence and impact.
Join us in creating a societalshift on how people think about
(24:45):
domestic violence.
You can learn more atGenesisShelterorg and when you
follow us on social media onFacebook and Instagram at
Genesis Women's Shelter, and onX at Genesis Shelter.
The Genesis Helpline isavailable 24 hours a day, 7 days
a week, by call or text at214-946-HELP 214-946-4357.
Earlier this year, we met with presenters at the 2025
Conference on Crimes AgainstWomen in Dallas, texas.
In this episode, my guest,teresa Gallegos, a nationally
credentialed advocate and thedirector of Outreach and
Accessibility at the KansasCoalition Against Sexual and
Domestic Violence, joins theshow to discuss the strategies
that support Hispanic survivorsof intimate partner violence.
(00:21):
I'm Maria McMullin and this isGenesis, the podcast.
Teresa Gallegos is a nationallycredentialed advocate and the
Director of Outreach andAccessibility at the Kansas
Coalition Against Sexual andDomestic Violence.
Previously, she served as theDirector of Education and
(00:42):
Training and the Sexual AssaultAdvocacy Response Coordinator,
playing a key role in the KansasSexual Assault Kit Initiative,
also known as SAKI.
Before her work at thecoalition, she was the Human
Trafficking Victim AssistanceCoordinator at the YMCA, where
she supported survivors of humantrafficking, domestic and
sexual violence.
Ms Gallegos is also a dedicatedvolunteer for Kansas Concerns
(01:06):
of Police Survivors.
Inspired by her own experienceas a sibling survivor, as an
immigrant and a mother of achild with a disability, she
focuses on engaging underservedpopulations through outreach and
public speaking.
Moreover, her holistic approachfosters collaboration and
understanding, enhancing supportsystems.
(01:30):
Teresa, welcome to the show, hi,thank you.
Thank you for having me.
We are here at the 2025Conference on Crimes Against
Women.
Just talking with differentpresenters and speakers at the
conference, which occursannually in May in Dallas, texas
, and your presentation isincredibly important, especially
to Genesis, because about 50%of clients at Genesis Women's
Shelter and Support in Dallas,texas, are Hispanic.
(01:51):
So we've that our Hispanicclients have unique needs,
cultural needs that we may notalways know about and you know
we need to check in with themabout.
(02:12):
So you've been doing somesimilar work and identified some
of the unique barriers andneeds of Hispanic survivors.
Tell us about the barriers theyface and how they may be unique
to their own culture.
Speaker 2 (02:26):
A great question.
So what we learned is thatthere are many barriers that
they face, and a lot of them arerooted in cultural beliefs and
are very much as like sanctityof the household, which is there
.
Are these values that you knownot to ask for help.
So there really presents a lotof walls and unavailable
(02:51):
resources, because it's aboutnot asking for help and it's
about the guilt and the shame.
What I would like to share withyou is walking through some
scenarios that highlight thosebarriers and a very small
glimpse of some of thebreakthroughs that can happen
for survivors.
So I'll start out with thescenario that I want to share.
(03:13):
We're going to call this personor name her Elena.
The example or scenario is hegets angry if I go out or talk
to people.
Once he pushed me when I triedto leave the house.
He said if I ever told anyone,he would report me to
immigration and I would neversee my kids again.
I know it's not as bad as whathappens to other women, but I
(03:35):
feel scared all the time.
So one of the scenarios isElena will go to her brother and
the brother's response is youmarried him, I have got my own
family.
This is making us look bad.
So what that does?
It presents a barrier and it'sa teaching point about the
machismo and the stigma thatcould create challenges that
(03:59):
isolate survivors and strainfamilial support.
Another scenario is sometimesthere's a referral or reference
to a faith leader.
The response in that couldpotentially be, or has been
maybe the Lord is testing yourfaith.
Marriage is about sacrifice, soas service providers, it's just
(04:19):
.
It creates a challenge.
So it's important to honor theperson's faith and honor their
experience with their religiousmembers and the relationship
that they may have in thatcommunity.
It's knowing that framing couldsilence a survivor, but also
knowing that spirituality can bea strength but also a pressure
at the same time.
(04:39):
I'll share another scenario tohighlight or show what another
barrier that happens often is.
They will go to a schoolcounselor or the counselor may
call them in and say yourdaughter is struggling and it's
clear something at home isaffecting her.
As a mother, it's your job toprotect her from that kind of
environment.
So that's a big barrier becauseit puts the blame on the mother
(05:02):
for the effects of the domesticviolence and it puts everything
on her not being a good motherto the child.
So it assumes equalresponsibility between the
victim and the abuser.
Also, it's a missed opportunity.
Sometimes when people are intrauma, it's difficult to
articulate what you're feelingwhat you're wanting to say.
So offering an opportunity tohave an interpreter, have a
(05:26):
translator, is really importantand crucial, and so it just kind
of deepens the mistrust there.
Speaker 1 (05:33):
What I hear also in just those three scenarios,
especially in two of them.
So in the first one, she goesto her brother, a loved one, a
person that she trusts, respects, believes.
You know he feels the same wayabout her and he does not do
anything to address what'shappening to her, only how her
coming to him, potentiallygetting involved, would impact
(05:55):
his own family.
So you completely dismiss herclaims of domestic violence or
abuse that she's suffering.
The second one was the faithleader.
Again, she holds this faithleader in high esteem, trust
them completely, potentiallythat you know that they are her
spiritual advisor and they donothing to address what the
(06:16):
abuse that she is suffering.
I think that further diminishesthe person who's experiencing
abuse, and we need to.
Hopefully our audience is doingsome active listening right now
and thinking about oh hey, youknow I shouldn't be a bystander
either.
I should not be focusing on howit's going to impact me, but
only how I can support thatsurvivor.
(06:38):
And then the third example was,to your astute points, giving
equal blame to both the victimand the abuser for what was
happening and how it wasimpacting the child, which is
just inherently wrong.
It's a wrong response.
Are school counselors receivingeducation about how to respond
to when they perceive there maybe violence in the home.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
It's my understanding that they are, but it may be
different state to state.
Speaker 1 (07:03):
I'm just curious, like in your state, in Kansas,
is there something in place?
Speaker 2 (07:08):
In Kansas.
It's my understanding that it'spart of like their onboarding,
that they receive X amount ofhours and training and different
kinds of trauma and anythingwithin their professional
development.
But what I also am aware of isthat it's on them to seek out
learning sessions or trainingopportunities that develop and
continue to build on what theyalready know and what they're
(07:30):
constantly learning, so it maynot be required to educate.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
continuing education no, no.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
Was there another scenario?
There is one scenario that iskind of a breakthrough.
Mm-hmm, it is.
Anna is the co-worker, and theco-worker Anna says my ex was
like that, there's a place thathelped me, you are not alone.
There's a breakthrough here,but I think it's that the good
thing about sharing the scenariois that it just kind of
(07:57):
highlights and speaks to how ouroutreach is so important.
So you have allies, potentiallythroughout communities or in
the public, but you know, notevery Elena has Ana.
That's a co worker, right.
So we walk through all of thesescenarios and there were a
couple other littlebreakthroughs here but also pros
(08:18):
and cons and just realizingthat sometimes people are very
isolated and they have no oneelse.
They are not able to go andspeak with a neighbor, or they
don't have a Doña Rosa you knowin their neighborhood that she
could really go to, and what welearn in the Hispanic
communities is that oftentimesthere is someone in the
community that's your go-toperson, but what if you can't
(08:40):
even go to that go-to personbecause of threats?
Speaker 1 (08:44):
So yeah, I think it's very challenging for victims of
domestic violence to determinewho might be a safe person for
them, especially if theirabusive partner has friendships
or relationships with the sameperson that she may be thinking
of talking to.
So there are a lot of concernsto take into consideration for
(09:04):
her own safety and her ownwell-being.
Now, out of these scenarios,you developed a toolkit that
helps to raise awareness aboutservices in order to increase
client engagement.
Tell us about that campaign andhow it was successful.
Speaker 2 (09:19):
Our campaign came about a few years ago and keep
in mind some of it might havebeen due to COVID, but what we
realized is that our memberprograms, programs in Kansas
that are providing directservice to victims and survivors
there was a significant lowparticipation or low people
reaching out and asking for help.
(09:40):
So KCSDB partnered with Puente,who is a marketing company in
Kansas, and they did a lot ofresearch in Kansas.
There's some statisticalinformation that came through
and what it highlighted is thatthe population of Hispanics is
growing nationally, but it'salso growing in Kansas and
(10:02):
actually it's growingsignificantly higher in Kansas.
So the opportunity is there tohelp people and so it came about
that the goal was really toraise awareness and also
encourage survivors to come andseek the help of the services
that are available to themThrough the research, through
the foundings.
As we talked a little bit, wefound that in Hispanic
(10:23):
communities it's difficult forpeople to ask and reach for help
, and especially difficult toask for help when you want to
talk to someone about somethingas personal as domestic violence
or sexual violence, but it'seven more personal to talk about
it, like you said, or wementioned, strangers.
So what we took is we took adifferent approach.
(10:44):
Instead of translating orinterpreting things that have
already been created, we knewthat in order to have trust, we
needed to go a step further.
So we just strongly believethat, because of the Hispanic
community and how trust is sucha big piece and such an
important family-knit communityfoundation that is in there,
(11:04):
that there is someone in theircommunity that they trust.
So we really hung on to thatand at the core of the campaign
we talked about that beforesomeone's going to share what
has happened to them, they haveto trust them.
So our approach was thinkingabout in the Hispanic culture
there's the term of endearmentlike comadre or compadre, which
is like a best friend.
(11:26):
So we really wanted thatfeeling of that person, not so
much the comadre or compadre,but what feeling does that
person give you and its trust.
So that's how Juntos LeAyudamos, which is the tagline
that we ended with, which is,together, we will help them.
(11:47):
And what we did is we wanted toconnect with the comadres and
the compadres, the allies outthere, and the materials were
developed in Spanish for thatperson, because we know, for
those of us that do outreach,and you know someone that is a
victim, survivor of domesticviolence, sexual violence, is
(12:07):
least likely to come to yourtable, especially when they see
your name in the title.
But if it's for someone youknow, they're more likely to do
that.
So we really wanted that person, that comadre, compadre and our
information was developed andcreated in a way that really
connects with the Hispanicculture.
We used words that are veryrhyming in Spanish, there's like
(12:30):
corridos, and words that arereally catchy and rhyming.
So some of the content that wasdeveloped an example is si
sospechas de maltrato, ayúdalede inmediato.
So if you think of like, I'mnot going to try to say Okay.
So the content was developedand created in Spanish.
(12:51):
The words were speaking to theHispanic culture, the colors
were to the Hispanic culture andwe created not only the content
in Spanish and all of that, butalso the materials and the
assets were created in a way ofwhat connects with that
community.
Across the state of Kansas, forexample, in Garden City and
(13:13):
Dodge City, which are way morerural parts of Kansas, we
learned that there's a radiostation.
That's how most people gettheir communication through that
.
That's how most people gettheir communication through that
.
So we created Spanish radiosegments Also, knowing that
Univision is very popularthrough different parts of the
(13:34):
state of Kansas.
We created 15 second and 30second commercials.
There were billboards that werecreated.
There were flyers with the tagwhere you pull off the phone
number.
Speaker 1 (13:44):
I know that sounds really old school.
Well, I mean, it sounds likeyou're speaking to your audience
, to what is going to bemeaningful to your audience.
Speaker 2 (13:51):
Yeah, so those are the things that we created
because that example was theywanted that in the grocery
stores because someone is morelikely to potentially go to one
of those grocery stores and caneasily access that information.
So that's how the content cameabout.
I spoke to some of thematerials and assets that were
(14:12):
created during for the HispanicToolkit Awareness Campaign.
Speaker 1 (14:16):
So I know you're trying to create awareness about
services, but it also soundslike you're trying to cultivate
engagement from the community tobe open to hearing about
experiences of domestic violenceof people that they may not
actually know.
Is that accurate?
Yes, that's accurate.
And how does that work for them?
What is the process for them tobecome involved?
(14:38):
Do they have to go to some typeof training or group or call
and say I want to be able tohelp people, or is it just this
idea that you want them to beopen to receiving the
information and then pointpeople in the direction of
services?
Speaker 2 (14:54):
Yeah.
So it's really about publicawareness.
It's about saying to everyoneif you know someone that is
going through this, you know youfeel like they trust you and
they have shared thatinformation.
It's up to you to takeownership of that and learn
about what is available to themand then, once they trust you,
then you take them to where thatservice is.
(15:15):
So it's really about invitingeveryone in the community to
learn more about what servicesare available to them for people
that when they are ready toseek help and ask for support.
The awareness campaign was verymore around, broad, around the
state of Kansas.
First of all, just theawareness that this happens
(15:38):
sexual violence, domesticviolence happens but also really
start the conversation.
The reality is that it's broad,it's all over the place.
There are people that don'teven want to talk about sexual
violence or domestic violenceand there are people that have
learned about it through.
You know others that hashappened to them or they have
learned about it in school.
But it's really about for us,as the public, to take another
(16:01):
step further and learn andeducate ourselves about what's
available and what's out there.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Yeah, I think those are critical points to
supporting people and meetingthem where they are.
You also have a unique way toincrease provider engagement
with Hispanic survivors throughwriting commitment statements.
How does that?
Speaker 2 (16:20):
work.
What I've learned in myexperience is that I really
learn a lot going to trainings,taking a step further and
attending a session and takingnotes.
But the action statement wasreally carved out time for
everyone to sit and, you know,think of three things like what
is one actionable thing that youcan take with you once you
(16:41):
leave this room?
So it was really about we spentsome time throughout the entire
session working through,discussing the barriers, talking
about the awareness campaign.
But now how do you do somethingwith this?
What is your next step?
What is one thing that you willimplement at your member
program or in providing servicesfor victims and survivors,
(17:02):
whether if you're in thehealthcare field, law
enforcement, criminal justicesystem, educator.
So we sat down and talked aboutthese are the things that I can
do today.
It's one thing, but long-term,this is what my agency can do,
whether if that was implementingpolicies and procedures that
really addressed how do we makesure that we're providing
(17:26):
interpreter services andtranslation services to every
person that walks in ourbuilding or walks in our office,
or that we're helping write aincident report.
For there were some personalcommitments that were talked
about, that were shared.
One example that someone stayedwith me after the session and
said when I go back home I'mgoing to walk back in my town
(17:48):
and I want to explore what thegrocery store looks like in my
community and that is reallygoing to open up my eyes to
learn more about how people areaccessing information.
They may not even know that weexist in our town.
So that may seem really minimal, but it's really broadened her
experience of wanting to learnmore about culture and how
(18:11):
people would connect to them.
Speaker 1 (18:12):
I think that's really interesting though, because, as
I reflect on the, explore hergrocery store to see how people
are accessing information.
If I think about the grocerystore in my community, I don't
recall seeing any flyers.
Everything's so digitized right.
So everywhere we go it's adigital sign, it's a flat screen
, but I don't recall seeing anytypes of billboards anymore with
(18:33):
flyers and phone numbers thatyou can tear off.
Is that practical in Kansas topost stuff?
Speaker 2 (18:39):
like that.
Yeah, it is I actually.
About a week and a half ago Iwalked in.
There's a grocery store in myhometown and I walked in there
and I asked my daughter.
I said do you see any of thesekind of things in the town?
She's away at college.
Oh okay, she's away at college.
So she came home and she waslike no, mom, I don't see those
(19:01):
where I'm at, but I do see themhere.
So maybe it's a Kansas thing,but I do see them, I see them
there.
But I do know that when I go toa couple different grocery
stores that when you walk inthere are some signs and people
still like post things up there.
Speaker 1 (19:19):
Okay, I think that's great Because, in addition to
speaking to your audience, youhave to message to your
community in a way that they'reactually going to be able to
receive it, whether it's flyersor some other opportunity.
Speaker 2 (19:30):
Yeah, one of the other things that we created
with the toolkit was somemessages that people could copy
and paste, and we learned that alot of people use the WhatsApp.
That was one example that weused is copy and paste, like I
learned about this organizationthat provides this kind of
support if you know someone, sothat's being like a comadre, you
(19:52):
know sharing it, right, if youknow someone that may need this
kind of help, and so it's a copyand paste so that people could
use it in the WhatsApp.
Same thing with social mediathe toolkit we created where
someone could easily postsomething on their organization,
social media, and it's alreadybeen translated and it was
(20:12):
developed in Spanish.
Good, so, with the imaging thatmatches the community that
we're wanting to have themaccess.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
What's the response been from the community and from
survivors?
Speaker 2 (20:25):
I don't have as much access to that information
personally, professionally, butI do hear from some of the
advocates that are doing thatwork that have seen the flyers
or have seen the billboards.
The most response that I'vereceived is from the billboards
in the Wichita area.
Just because they know that I'mconnected to that.
It's a lot of like proud thatthis is important to us.
(20:49):
I'm doing air quotes that thisis important enough for us to be
doing something like that.
Yes, so I know.
I saw it in the Kansas Cityarea.
Our member program there, moxa,who is in the Kansas City area.
They launched a big campaignand it was shared with me that
they also had it inside thebuses and I heard feedback.
(21:12):
I didn't hear it from survivorsbecause I don't do direct work
and I don't receive those calls,but I did learn from one of the
advocates and she mentionedthat someone else she was
working with.
But it's the pride of knowingthat people like you mean enough
for someone to do that, to havethat on a billboard.
Speaker 1 (21:40):
I think I completely understand what you're saying to
feel like you.
Who is reading this in Spanishin a way that directly speaks to
you?
You matter, what's happening toyou matters, and there are
people who, to your point, careenough about you and your
experience to want to give youopportunities to access services
(22:04):
and information.
Yeah, and I've heard that fromother survivors as well, who've
been on the show, kind ofsometimes in the opposite way.
Like you know, immigrants fromother countries who came to the
United States experienceddomestic violence, and law
enforcement would not respond totheir calls because it was as
if they did not matter, forwhatever reason.
(22:24):
That could be lots of reasons,and I think that this campaign
is a great expression of that.
We all matter.
Every life matters and weshould take care of each other
right, especially when it'sdomestic violence.
Before I let you go, what aresome commitment statements that
people could maybe take actionon today?
Like, just give us ideas ofwhat people have said to you.
Speaker 2 (22:44):
I brought some with me and then I can share a couple
from today's session.
There was quite a few peoplethat stayed back.
I will connect with a bilingualadvocate to better understand
language access barriers.
That was a personal, Aprofessional is.
I will implementtrauma-informed practices that
reduce fear of authority wheninteracting with immigrant
(23:04):
survivors.
That one was shared about twoyears ago in one of my other
sessions and then I willimplement partnerships with
Spanish language media to raiseawareness about available
survivor services, and that isone of the ones that really
worked through the state ofKansas and ensuring that this
was launched in one of theircommunities.
(23:26):
Yeah, and from today.
Today it was the one about thegrocery that was really
impactful the grocery store.
One about the that was reallyimpactful the grocery store and
maybe it's because it's so ithappened so recently to me about
a week and a half ago, when Iwent and walked into a grocery
store and I saw flyers andthings like that with the tear
off information.
The other one they wanted toknow if one of their commitments
(23:50):
is to bring in trainers orpresenters that talk more about
the development of the contentin Spanish and culturally
specific.
They're from a location inTennessee.
I don't remember the exactlocation, but they have my
number and are going to go backand speak with our leadership
about bringing in someone thatcan speak from professional and
personal experience for theirstaff.
Speaker 1 (24:11):
That's amazing.
I'm so glad you made thoseconnections and I'm so glad that
you brought this information tothe over 2000 people attending
the conference on crimes againstwomen.
Thank you so much for talkingwith me today.
Thank you, thank you for havingme here.
Speaker 3 (24:25):
Genesis Women's Shelter and Support exists to
give women in abusive situationsa way out.
We are committed to our missionof providing safety, shelter
and support for women andchildren who have experienced
domestic violence, and to raiseawareness regarding its cause,
prevalence and impact.
Join us in creating a societalshift on how people think about
(24:45):
domestic violence.
You can learn more atGenesisShelterorg and when you
follow us on social media onFacebook and Instagram at
Genesis Women's Shelter, and onX at Genesis Shelter.
The Genesis Helpline isavailable 24 hours a day, 7 days
a week, by call or text at214-946-HELP 214-946-4357.
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