The Power of Educating and Empowering Victims of Gender-Based Violence

By Meritxell Roca-Sales

Did you know that one in three women worldwide have been subjected to intimate partner violence and/or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime? (1) Even though gender-based violence (GBV) affects people of all gender identities, women and non-conforming individuals are more likely to suffer from this kind of violence at some point during their lives. Additionally, Latina/o domestic or intimate partnerships reported higher rates of intimate partner violence (14%) than white couples (6%) with reoccurrence rates of 59% among Latina/o couples and 37% among white couples. Community Health Workers (CHW) programs, often in collaboration with legal assistance organizations, play a critical role in helping victims of gender-based violence overcome these difficult and challenging situations. 

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Successful partnerships like the one between Grameen Promotoras (GP) and Sanctuary for Families (SFF) are proof of the communal spirit and solidarity behind CHW programs and their role in health equity.

About the Partnership
To address the needs of Latino women in New York City, and particularly in the borough of Queens, Grameen Promotoras and Sanctuary for Families recently united forces to educate and assist with system navigation in a community that traditionally has been underserved and ignored by the judicial system. In August, they started a series of collaborative events involving workshops and presentations on the different types of resources available for survivors of GBV. The first of many sessions was held on August 21st. Over 60 women, all members of Grameen America, participated. Besides serving as an educational opportunity, events of this kind also allow CHWs to build trust with the community they serve by doing something very simple – just being someone to talk to, someone that has been through what you are going through, and someone who actively listens to you. In two words, someone empathetic. This is critical because gender-based violence is also the source of mental health distress and conditions such as depression.  

CHW programs like Grameen Promotoras train their personnel on various topics, most notably Mental Health First Aid (2). Mental Health First Aid is a national program that teaches basic skills about how to respond to the signs of mental illness and substance use. At Grameen Promotoras, emotional support has been at the top of the list of services requested by participants for the past 3 years, with a demand higher than medical services such as primary care physicians, dental exams or vision exams. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has put a supplementary burden on many victims of gender-based violence who depend financially on their partners/abusers and cannot leave their homes. In contexts where working remotely has become the new paradigm, spending more time at home with the abuser puts victims at a higher risk of experiencing GBV. 

Legal advocacy, affordable healthcare, support groups, mental health counseling (crisis hotline phone numbers cannot be the only option) and access to housing through a domestic violence shelter are just some of the needs that our community of GBV currently faces, both in New York City and beyond. Joint efforts like the partnership between Grameen Promotoras – Grameen America and Sanctuary for Families will continue to build bridges between traditionally underserved communities, such as immigrant women, and local government institutions. Advocacy, service, and persistence will lead to advancements in health equity. 

References

1. U.S. Department of State. Gender-Based Violence Prevention and Response.https://www.state.gov/gender-based-violence-prevention-and-response/ 
2. Mental Health First Aid. https://www.mentalhealthfirstaid.org/ 
3. Zolnikov, T. R., Guerra, J. L., Furio, F., Dennis, J., & Ortega, C. (2023). A qualitative study understanding immigrant latinas, violence, and available mental health care. Dialogues in Health, 2, 100112. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dialog.2023.100112 

​Image Credit: Meritxell Roca-Sales
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About Grameen Promotoras 
Grameen Promotoras, a CHW Program of Grameen America, hopes to improve the health and well-being of participants by using a community health worker approach in a non-clinical setting. GP aims to improve health, increase health care access and system use, and increase knowledge surrounding health-related topics that are critical to the participants and their families. GP also recognizes that targeting the social determinants of health is key to creating healthy communities. Grameen Promotoras is the recipient of a 2024-2025 grant from Health Equity Initiative. 

About Sanctuary for Families
Sanctuary for Families is a nonprofit dedicated to the safety, healing and self-determination of victims of domestic violence. SFF currently employs over 200 lawyers, clinicians, and support staff in the New York City metropolitan area. 

Author’s Bio
Meritxell Roca-Sales, PhD is the Senior Director of Education & Health at Grameen America where she oversees a Community Health Workers and Educators program that services over 30,000 women nationally.  

The content within this blog post does not imply the endorsement of Health Equity Initiative or its partners and is from the perspective of the writer alone. We do not check facts and strive to retain the writer's voice.
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