Workshop Descriptions
A County Capacity Building and Planning Process to Prevent Violence
Presenter(s): Hisham Alibob & Alexandra Madsen
Contra Costa County's Alliance to End Abuse, in partnership with the Contra Costa Family Justice Center and other key partners, began a County-wide violence prevention initiative aimed at systems change in 2017. Since then the Alliance, a collaborative of multiple cross-sector agencies (including law enforcement, prosecutors, community advocates and service providers), has created a County-wide violence prevention blueprint (a tool to guide change), and successfully guided their partners to value, support and lead innovative prevention work rooted in racial equity across the county.Workshop level: Advanced
Track: Harnessing the Power of Prevention
Tuesday, November 3rd - 3:00pm - 4:15pm
Acknowledging the pain in the South Asian community:Domestic violence
Presenter(s): Payal Sawhney & Sheetal S. Ayyatan
The United States has the largest immigrant population in the world with over 61.6 million immigrants (Center for Immigration Studies). There are now over 5 million South Asians who call the U.S. home. Women comprise a large portion of the immigrated South Asian population in the U.S. The disparity between the South Asian and American culture creates the need to acculturate upon migration to the U.S. South Asian women Immigrants have been seen to be most affected by the acculturation process as they have additional responsibility, compared to south Asian men, of being primary transmitters of culture, values, and traditions to their families and have the hardest time adapting to the host county's cultural values (Pew Research Center). In the ongoing research being conducted by Saahas for cause we are studying acculturation and attitudes towards violence against women. The elements under consideration for this study are gender roles, acculturation strategies and attitude towards violenceWorkshop level: Introductory
Track: Listening to Different Voices
Wednesday, November 4th - 3:00pm - 4:15pm
Advocating for Student Victims of IPV through the Campus Title IX Process
Presenter(s): Kelly Behre & Brenda Star Adams
Young people experience high rates of IPV, SV/SH, and stalking. To meet student survivors where they are, we must recognize their unique needs. Off-campus advocates are often unfamiliar with Title IX processes while on-campus advocates are unfamiliar with civil/criminal legal processes. Survivors need to understand these overlapping systems to make informed decisions about how to engage. Title IX offers measures to enable survivors to safely stay in school, but it involves its own set of risks and trauma. Recent changes to federal Title IX rules make this topic particularly timely. In this session, we will review Title IX and relevant federal/state law, discuss campus processes, and explain student rights, including access to information, supportive measures, and equitable investigations/adjudications/appeals. In group discussions, participants will identify client goals, connect goals to available relief through different systems, and analyze pros/cons, using fact patterns to practiceWorkshop level: Introductory
Track: Reimagining Policies and Practices
Wednesday, November 4th - 1:00pm - 2:15pm
Aspiring White Allyship: Challenging White Supremacy Within the DV Field
Presenter(s): May Rico & Tracy Lamb
The Aspiring White Allyship group is a result of a workshop from the 2019 STL Conference. Over 30 white women attended, with 13 continuing the work beyond the session. This group will be sharing the results of their efforts, including lessons learned and a commitment to ongoing improvement. This group will also share the preliminary results of a project that came out of the DV field's inconsistent response to Black people being killed by law enforcement. This session will include an invitation to other white people, to hold themselves accountable to their mission of ending violence and the values of intersectional cultural responsiveness & racial justice. The group will share the results of a statewide assessment addressing the needs of people of color in the field & the inequities they face, while addressing specific & concrete ways in which white people can hold themselves accountable to challenge white supremacy within the field, especially those with a position of authority.Workshop level: Advanced
Track: Listening to Different Voices
Tuesday, November 3rd - 3:00pm - 4:15pm
Breaking the Cycle: A Multi-Generational Approach to IPV Prevention
Presenter(s): Lucia Corral-Peña & Wendi Siebold
In 2020, Blue Shield of California Foundation launched the Breaking the Cycle Two-Generation Practice pilots to invest in prevention innovation that impacts more than one generation within families and communities. This "two-generation" approach holds promise for lifting prevention practices of marginalized low-income communities by centering lived experience and often reaching families before crisis. The two-generation approach allows upstream prevention to coexist with response, is a natural entry point for community prevention, and centers the solution on the contexts within which people live. The recent pandemic and racial equity movement validate the need for two-generation solutions that are inclusive and support long-term family engagement in the prevention of DV. We will share examples from 12 pilot sites who exemplify that meeting the needs of families IS primary prevention of DV. This workshop will engage participants to conceptually model their own two-generation outcomes.Workshop level: Introductory
Track: Harnessing the Power of Prevention
Wednesday, November 4th - 1:00pm - 2:15pm
Bringing Light to the Revolution in Ourselves and at Home
Presenter(s): Christi Molina & Christina Kaviani
This workshop will address underrepresented family systems as a way to redefine a new perspective on the victim/survivor or perpetrator/abuser binary. The purpose of the workshop will be to discuss how to create an inclusive space within our families no matter what perspectives they have. We will also address ways to understand family members and others without categorizing and labeling people, and emphasizing the idea that people can hold multiple perspectives.Workshop level: Introductory
Track: Addressing Gaps in the Field
Thursday, November 5th - 1:00pm - 2:15pm
Centering Immigrant Voices in the Fight to Protect Asylum for Survivors
Presenter(s): Brianna Krong & Lourdes Martinez
Presenters from the Center for Gender & Refugee Studies (CGRS) and Mujeres Unidas y Activas (MUA) will share strategies developed through our Immigrant Women Too advocacy campaign to defend asylum protections for domestic violence survivors. CGRS and MUA will provide a brief overview of recent Trump Administration asylum policies and their impact on immigrant survivors in California, including the latest measures undertaken in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We will then share tactics used in our campaign and lessons learned, including: (1) In-person and digital actions; (2) Strategic messaging research and development; (3) Policy advocacy; and (4) Survivor story collection and amplification. We will share with participants how we center survivor voices and provide opportunities for skills development through MUA's political education and training programs. We will also reflect on ethical considerations for this work in light of COVID-19 isolation measures.Workshop level: Introductory
Track: Listening to Different Voices
Wednesday, November 4th - 1:00pm - 2:15pm
Community Partnerships: Making Accessible & Culturally Responsive Services
Presenter(s): Janani Ramachandran & Erika Suarez Trejo
In 2019, Family Violence Appellate Project (FVAP) partnered with National Indian Justice Center (NIJC), California Consortium for Urban Indian Health California (CCUIH) and WEAVE, Inc to expand its housing program and better serve Native American survivors and survivors in limited-English-proficient communities. By utilizing each partners' expertise in the unique needs of their communities, the partnership is creating and providing housing trainings and materials, in a way that responds to each communities' unique needs and helps combats domestic violence survivor homelessness. In this workshop, FVAP and (CCUIH) will discuss importance of partnering with culturally specific organizations, honoring a variety of experts and combining legal and domestic violence expertise serve diverse survivor communities. Additionally, in order to help other organizations replicate this important partnership model, presenters will discuss the challenges and successes in creating this partnership.Workshop level: Introductory
Track: Addressing Gaps in the Field
Wednesday, November 4th - 3:00pm - 4:15pm
Community-Led Social Norms Campaigns: Learning from a Seed Grant Initiative
Presenter(s): Liat Wexler & Tiffany O'Dwyer
At UC Berkeley we have implemented a Social Norms Seed Grant Initiative for the last 4 years to support intact communities in developing their own social norms change campaigns. We offer teams a small grant award along with training and ongoing technical assistance to support them to collect data on their own community's norms, correctly identify misperceived norms as opportunities for change, develop campaigns to communicate actual norms using best practices, and evaluate their impact. This year, teams also learned to pivot from in-person to virtual campaigns. In this workshop you will experience a condensed version of the interactive process that a grantee would undertake over the course of an academic year! You'll also consider how to implement an initiative like this with the communities you serve.Workshop level: Advanced
Track: Reimagining Policies and Practices
Monday, November 2nd - 3:00pm - 4:15pm
Compassion, Kinship, and Mutuality: The Power of Restorative Practices
Presenter(s): Vivien Devaney-Frice & Ginny Jenkins
Restorative Partners (RP) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that provides for the unmet needs of people impacted by crime in San Luis Obispo County through a continuum of programs and services.We envision a two-fold approach for this session: First, we will define the principles listed above (compassion, kinship, mutuality, and restorative justice) and facilitate discussion about their importance when creating restorative spaces. We will examine ways to discuss accountability, forgiveness, and restoration with "victims" and "offenders" alike. Second, because we recognize the intersectionality of restorative justice and family violence prevention and intervention, we will create a space to discuss strategies for restorative solutions to violence. Our presenters are certified cognitive behavioral therapy facilitators and Formal Restorative Conference Facilitators. They will present on best practices when using restorative practices in group sessions and restorative conferences.
Workshop level: Introductory
Track: Reimagining Policies and Practices
Tuesday, November 3rd - 3:00pm - 4:15pm
Culturally Responsive Trauma Informed Care
Presenter(s): Amanda Gibson & Jacques Whitfield
Many DV/IPV organizations have implemented Trauma Informed Care Principals and have Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion trainings, policies, and procedures. The missing piece in both approaches is understanding how Racialized Trauma impacts the bodies and nervous systems in diverse bodies of staff and clients. This workshop will provide an overview of Poly Vagal Theory, Racialized Trauma, and how to incorporate this awareness into your organization through a new view on DEI trainings, policies, and procedures.Leading organizations during times of collective trauma (COVID-19 and Racial Trauma) is especially challenging for all levels of leadership, staff, and clients. We believe it is important to have a strategy of how to respond and support an organization through this difficult time. This pandemic and increasing racial tension have caused all human beings to pause and reflect on what is most important in life.
Workshop level: Advanced
Track: Addressing Gaps in the Field
Tuesday, November 3rd - 1:00pm - 2:15pm
Culture is Prevention: Working with Native Survivors and Communities
Presenter(s): Jesus Sanchez & Cibonay Jimenez
This workshop will focus on preventative efforts utilizing education, culture, and intersecting modalities to prevent domestic violence within Native communities. Prevention efforts are deeply rooted in traditional Native epistemology and are being implemented across Indian Country in both culturally specific organizations and mainstream organizations. This workshop will provide a historical overview of the connection between the impact of contact, root causes and the current trends, challenges, and barriers to accessing services. A cultural humility foundation will be discussed for working with Native survivors and to implement culturally responsive services.Workshop level: Introductory
Track: Harnessing the Power of Prevention
Thursday, November 5th - 1:00pm - 2:15pm
Domestic Violence - Community Health Workers: Policy and Practice
Presenter(s): Erin Ridout & Sue Ryan
DCADV will present on issues of policy and practice around the integration of domestic violence and health services through the examination of the implementation of DCADV's Domestic Violence - Community Health Worker Project.Drawing on FWOV's work in the health field and nationwide research on the CHW service delivery model, DCADV has created a unique service delivery model that leverages DV advocates' strengths and partners it with the community-based advocacy of the CHW model. The DV-CHW Project seeks to create an innovative, sustainable service delivery model integrating DV services with healthcare services in order to reduce health disparities and improve patient outcomes.
The presentation will focus on a concrete example of an intervention that addresses DV as a health issue, beginning with the project's origins and how financial support was initially secured. Next, the presenter will summarize the lessons learned and examine the essential issues of policy and practice.
Workshop level: Advanced
Track: Reimagining Policies and Practices
Tuesday, November 3rd - 1:00pm - 2:15pm
Emerging Alternatives to Calling 911
Presenter(s): Cat Brooks & Colsaria Henderson
2020 has brought a national awakening to the state violence communities of color experience in this country, and public confidence in police has weakened compared to years past. City leaders in Minneapolis, Minnesota and Austin, Texas have committed to taking steps to defund their police departments. There is a growing call in communities, especially communities of color, to create alternatives to calling police to respond to incidents of violence. This workshop will feature grassroots organizations that are developing community-based alternatives to 911 with trained first responders who are healing informed and using a transformative justice lens.Workshop level: Introductory
Track: Reimagining Policies and Practices
Wednesday, November 4th - 3:00pm - 4:15pm
Engaging Men through Cultural and Intergenerational strategies
Presenter(s): Jerry Tello & Greg Hodge
The broad title creates space for you all to share how you approach supporting men and their families in maintaining healthy relationships, dismantling colonized notions of manhood, instilling a positive cultural identity and addressing some of the roots that can lead to harm at home and in their communities.Workshop level: Introductory
Track: Listening to Different Voices
Monday, November 2nd - 3:00pm - 4:15pm
From "Strong" Black Woman to Whole Black Woman: Healing the Pain of IPV
Presenter(s): Dr. C. Walters
Black women, often labeled as the matriarch of the family, suffer at the hands of not only their partners but at the hand of society at large. Taught to "not air your dirty laundry", they suffer in silence, often protecting their perpetrator either out of fear or in solidarity with the same community who might be inflicting hurt. It is often difficult for Black women to find ways to effectively communicate their hurt, pain, and/or fears and much harder to find safe spaces to share their grief. This is why I have broken away from traditional treatment models of individual therapy only and now incorporate affinity groups such as Black Women's Wellness Retreats and Black Women's Support groups to provide an environment of safety wherein Black Women can begin the process of loving and reconnecting with themselves. When Black women learn to make self a priority without shame and/or guilt, they also learn and practice elements of being in healthy relationships.Workshop level: Introductory
Track: Listening to Different Voices
Monday, November 2nd - 1:00pm - 2:15pm
Healing Together: Innovative Policy Proposals to Shift the Paradigm
Presenter(s): Marc Philpart & Krista Niemczyk
Healing Together is a new campaign that engages men, and people of all genders, in the work to build safe and accountable communities by focusing on healing, gender justice, and racial equity-instead of punishment-to end intimate partner violence. We aim to shift away from punitive policies and systems that produce violence and expand community-based approaches that focus on prevention, accountability, and healing for all. This workshop will highlight bold policy proposals underway that aim to shift the paradigm of survivor/offender, create crisis response options trusted by communities of color, and increase investment of prevention efforts that are developed and led by families most impacted by violence.Workshop level: Introductory
Track: Reimagining Policies and Practices
Monday, November 2nd - 1:00pm - 2:15pm
New Thinking on Screening for IPV as a Health Equity Issue
Presenter(s): Anisa Ali & Rebecca Levenson
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Futures Without Violence has been asking the field of health care if screening for intimate partner violence promotes health equity and or if it in fact screening is riddled with problems especially for black and brown mothers. What fears come with positive disclosures of abuse for these women? Fear of child welfare involvement is real-and if we are not honest with ourselves about the barriers our systems create, we perpetuate isolation and harm because disclosure driven practice necessitates a 'yes' to receive support. This session will be looking at how we can promote antiracist work in health care through listening to voices of survivors/patients and offering new solutions that call for systems change. Namely, our healing centered evidence-based universal education approach, CUES, that is built on providers sharing their power and partnering with the patients to promote healing for themselves and others within their own communities.Workshop level: Introductory
Track: Addressing Gaps in the Field
Monday, November 2nd - 3:00pm - 4:15pm
Opening Doors: Creating Inclusive & Welcoming Services for LGBTQ+ Survivors
Presenter(s): Hollie West
This session will address key gaps in trauma-informed care many organizations face and outline strategies direct service employees can take to foster an inclusive experience for LGBTQ+ clients without infringing upon personal or religious beliefs of employees.The session begins with a facilitated discussion that will critically analyze the ways in which attendees' organizations serve LGBTQ+ clients. Participants will break out into small groups and discuss what actions/steps their organizations are currently taking to support LGBTQ+ clients, and where their organizations have room for growth to better support the queer folks in their community.
Presenters then will introduce a menu of strategic steps organizations can take to support LGBTQ+ clients and discuss the imperativeness of inclusive policies. Attendees will be split into groups again to identify organization-specific challenges and strategies to create an inclusive environment without impeding on any personal beliefs.
Workshop level: Introductory
Track: Listening to Different Voices
Thursday, November 5th - 1:00pm - 2:15pm
Post-COVID Advocacy: Creating Digitally Safe Spaces for Survivors
Presenter(s): Adam Dodge
Our work has been irrevocably changed by COVID-19. In particular, we must adjust to how survivors are spending more time online and on their devices than ever before. It is how our clients work, learn, communicate and so much more. The impact has manifested in two ways.First, it is in these digital spaces where survivors are, and will continue to be, harmed. Second, the ability to safely access and utilize technology - which is vital to a survivor's ability to rebuild their life - is in jeopardy. Without this access, they cannot survive or thrive. In order to support the survivors of today, their digital safety must be prioritized.
In this session, we will explore how the move online has altered the domestic violence landscape by empowering those seeking to harm survivors; why safe access to technology is now a human right; the meaning of digital safety and the steps organizations can take to begin to create digitally safe spaces when serving survivors.
Workshop level: Introductory
Track: Addressing Gaps in the Field
Monday, November 2nd - 1:00pm - 2:15pm
Racial Trauma: Closing the gaps in mental health services
Presenter(s): Tina Rodriguez
Racial trauma is rooted in oppression and normalized violence against people of color. This workshop uncovers the layers of historical trauma from segregation to familial separation. We identify the disconnect between the DSM-5 and marginalized populations. I discuss systemic racism that has trapped survivors into cycles of lifelong abuse. Participants will expand their knowledge of grief and loss of culture and how it contributes to depression. We discuss how the mental health system screens out black women and the fear that immigrant survivors have in asking for help. Participants will develop intervention plans through a cultural humility approach utilizing critical race theory.Workshop level: Advanced
Track: Reimagining Policies and Practices
Thursday, November 5th - 1:00pm - 2:15pm
Reshaping the Narrative: Uplifting Youth Voices with Storytelling and Art
Presenter(s): Arti Kothari Allard & Janae Sargent
This workshop will review the role art and storytelling has played in the history of social justice movements, as well as equip attendees with tangible strategies to implement public art campaigns that engage communities that are often left out of gender-based violence prevention work. This workshop will be helpful for those interested in how community art, whether in person or virtual, can foster discussion around gender-based violence and social justice issues.Workshop level: Advanced
Track: Harnessing the Power of Prevention
Monday, November 2nd - 1:00pm - 2:15pm
Society Cracks are Fertile Soil to plant Anti-Racism: Let it Bloom!
Presenter(s): Mercedes Tune & Gayle Guest-Brown
We will address the function of racism in maintaining socio- economic structural inequalities that lead to violence and the need to dismantle them to create a just society.We will show data and use the power of storytelling to demonstrate structural inequalities as well as ongoing progress to promote reflection and critical analysis as essential steps in taking action.
We will create space to have brave and critical analysis of MULTIPLE REALITIES and its convergence to articulate ways in which people can interrupt bigotry and prejudice, and address institutional inequalities.
We will offer 2 tools for self-regulation and a menu of concrete options in the anti-racism journey.
Our workshop is based on Ibram X Kendi, and Tema Okum work on dismantling racism.
"The anti-racist power within is the ability to view my own anti-racism in the mirror of my future and view my own racial groups as equal to others racial groups." (Kendi)
