Survivor-Centered Advocacy in Culturally Specific Communities A Community-Based Participatory Research Project Full Report with Appendices June 2017, Revised March 2019 Written by: Susan Ghanbarpour & Ada Palotai Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence Contributors: Mimi Kim, Orchid Pusey & Alvina Rosales In partnership with the Survivor-Centered Advocacy Project Collaborative: Aracelia Aguilar, Maria Carrillo, Harmit Cheema, Juana Flores, Irene Girgis, Amber Hodson, Tara Holcomb, Maria Jimenez, Mallika Kaur, Lesli Irene LeGras, Beckie Masaki, Carolina Morales, Kao “Tang” Ying Moua, Nuri Nusrat, Riffat J. Rahman, Wendy Schlater, Hyejin Shim and Liz Suk Acknowledgements We thank Cristy Chung and Nancy Wan, former staff of the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender- Based Violence, who first dreamed of this survivor-centered advocacy project and whose vision inspired all of us who continued to make it come to life. We are deeply grateful to our Field Research Teams who chose to take on the challenge of making research their own. Most of all, we express our deepest gratitude to the many survivors represented in the research projects featured in this report. We know that this includes many of us who also worked as Project Staff, on the Design Team, and as Field Researchers. Field Research Teams Avellaka is a program of the La Jolla Band of Luiseño Indians dedicated to educating and organizing for social change, and upholding the La Jolla Tribe’s authority as a sovereign Indian nation to protect its women citizens and create the laws, policies, protocols, and advocacy services to address violence against Native women. Their project, Rainbow of Truth, was led by Wendy Schlater and studied the experiences of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ)/2Spirit1 people from tribal communities in San Diego County. DeafHope is a grassroots organization in the San Francisco Bay Area providing accessible support and empowerment to Deaf women who are survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Their project, Safety and Support for Deaf Survivors of Violence, was led by Aracelia Aguilar, Amber Hodson and Tara Holcomb, and studied the experiences of Deaf, Deaf-Blind, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf/Disabled people (Deaf) who have experienced domestic violence. Korean American Coalition to End Domestic Abuse (KACEDA)/QYUL (Queer and Trans Koreans Yearning for Unity and Liberation) is a queer and trans workgroup within KACEDA, organizing to bring more attention to the lives, experiences and struggles of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) Korean survivors of violence. Their project, With You: Queer and Trans Koreans Surviving Violence, was led by Hyejin Shim, and studied Koreans who identify as LGBTQ and their experiences of domestic violence. 1 Among Indigenous North American culture, 2Spirit refers to individuals whose spirits are a blending of male and female spirit. 2Spirit is essentially a third gender recognized in many Indigenous cultures. For more information, see twospiritjournal.com Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA) is an intergenerational grassroots organization in the San Francisco Bay Area led by and for Latinx2 immigrant women members, offering a national model for Latinx immigrant empowerment and organizing. Their project, The Impact of Offering Several Ways of Healing, Caring For, and Empowering the Membership, was led by Maria Carrillo, Juana Flores, and Maria Jimenez, and studied their members’ experiences of their programs. Sikh Family Center is a grassroots community-based organization that helps create healthy, violence-free, more equitable communities by bridging gaps in access to public resources and social services, and providing education and direct support to community members using an empowerment approach that attends to cultural tradition, immigration experiences, and language access. Their project, Strengthening our Roots: Listening and Learning from Survivors and Supporters, was led by Harmit Cheema and Mallika Kaur, and studied interventions to family violence in the Sikh community, many of which exist outside of formal systems, and ways to support those interventions and make them stronger. Recommended Citation: Ghanbarpour S., & Palotai A. (2019). Survivor-Centered Advocacy in Culturally Specific Communities: A Community-Based Participatory Research Project. Oakland, CA: Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence. Tools in this report were developed by the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence, and may be used, adapted, or distributed with permission from the Institute. This Project was supported by Blue Shield of California Foundation for the 2016-2017 grant period, with additional financial contributions from Move to End Violence, a program of the NoVo Foundation. Additional support provided by grant number 90EV0430 awarded to the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence from the Administration on Children, Youth and Families, Family and Youth Services Bureau, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2 Latinx is a term that signals an important recognition of non-binary gender identifications. As Rigoberto Márquez explains, “’Latinx’ can be defined as a political identity that centers the lived experiences of queer, non-binary, gender non-conforming/creative and/or trans* individuals. The “x” pushes us to think critically about the different ways race, gender, sexuality and geographic location can impact how we and others understand Latina, Latino or Latinx identities and experiences” (2018). TABLE OF CONTENTS Executive Summary ........................................................................................................................................................ 1 Introduction....................................................................................................................................................................... 7 The Survivor-Centered Advocacy Project ........................................................................................................... 11 The Goals ................................................................................................................................................................. 11 The Design .............................................................................................................................................................. 12 The Participants ..................................................................................................................................................... 13 Evaluation ................................................................................................................................................................ 18 Creating a Vision of Research Justice .................................................................................................................. 20 Research Justice as a Framework .................................................................................................................... 20 Shifting from Language Access to Language Justice .............................................................................. 24 Community Contextual Factors: Historical and Emerging Issues ....................................................... 27 Expanding Research Capacity in Marginalized Communities ..................................................................... 32 The Role of CBPR Liaisons ................................................................................................................................. 32 Research Justice: A 9 Month Journey ............................................................................................................ 36 Moving from Practitioners to Practioner-Researchers ........................................................................... 36 The Meaning and Practice of Survivor-Centered Advocacy ........................................................................ 39 Who Are Survivors? .............................................................................................................................................. 39 What is Survivor-Centered Advocacy? ......................................................................................................... 40 Survivor-Centered Advocacy: Emerging Themes ..................................................................................... 43 Lessons Learned ........................................................................................................................................................... 52 Lessons Learned: Research Justice ................................................................................................................. 52 Lessons Learned: the Research Process & Capacity Building .............................................................. 54 Lessons Learned: Survivor-Centered Advocacy ........................................................................................ 56 Conclusion ...................................................................................................................................................................... 58 References....................................................................................................................................................................... 60 APPENDICES