TDH Booklet4 - Texas Association Against Sexual Assault

Background Paper - Primary Prevention of Violence Against Women
Cultural Competency
Success in ending sexual
assault, domestic violence,
and stalking in the state
depends on cultural
competency during all
stages of planning,
implementation, and
evaluation of prevention
efforts.
Given the diverse make-up of Texas, success in ending sexual
assault, domestic violence and stalking in the state depends on
cultural competency during all stages of planning, implementation,
and evaluation of prevention efforts. Cultural competency goes
beyond providing linguistically appropriate materials or services, as
emphasized in an award-winning essay of a University of Texas
medical student that states:
Competence encompasses an appreciation for the ways in
which culture shapes a patient’s values, beliefs, and health
behaviors; an understanding of how these…intersect with the
health care system; and most importantly it involves action to
devise interventions that meet the culturally unique needs of
patients…to institutionalize cultural knowledge. 78
Competency involves education and training but also policies
and programs that involve people from different cultures in
leadership roles.
The Texas Council on Family Violence recently completed an
extensive three-year assessment and planning process involving
data collection, community audits, interviews with service providers
and 34 focus groups with underserved populations. 79 They found
that many groups face cultural barriers leaving critical needs
unmet. Their plan includes specific recommendations to better serve
people with disabilities, people who are elderly, people with mental
illness, people with substance abuse problems, people who are
immigrants, people of color and people who are lesbian, gay,
bisexual or transgender (LGBT). Prevention efforts can build on
Texas-specific findings related to different cultures and VAW.
Traditional intervention and prevention activities often derive
from a mainstream, white, middle class model. Research on cultural
competence in VAW prevention activities suggests that those
mainstream efforts are often ineffective with marginalized and
disenfranchised populations. 80 Effective prevention efforts consider
elements such as language, social mores, and access to
information. Program content can be adapted appropriately to the
needs of specific groups and can address the particular challenges
and barriers they face. 81
33 A STRATEGIC PLAN TO PREVENT VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN TEXAS