Angela Banks, MPH¹, Eben Ingram, PhD¹, and Mercedes Tompkins². (1) Division of Violence Prevention, Program Development and Evaluation Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Highway, NE, K60, Atlanta, GA 30341, 770-488-4273, zwv0@cdc.gov, (2) Federated Dorchester, 450 Washington Street, Dorchester, MA 02124

The negative impact of intimate partner violence (IPV) on women’s health has been extensively documented in ethnic minority communities. Federated Dorchester, a community roundtable of social and health service provider organizations, implemented a coordinated community response intervention for African descent women in the greater Boston area. This project employs a conceptual model that trains providers on culturally appropriate advocacy for legal, medical, counseling, educational, and social support services for female IPV victims. The interventions focused on enhancing culturally appropriate victim services and increased efforts to hold abusers accountable through the criminal justice system. Interventions for women focused on help seeking and self-care. Key constituent stakeholders within the police departments, courts system, and health clinics, developed an Enhanced Advocacy Network that assists women on issues such as protection orders in the courts, health care, and shelter access. In addition, two groups were developed to provide culturally competent information: an African American Women’s Support Group and Special Task Force for Women of Haitian and Cape Verdan descent. These interventions will be described in some detail. In addition, this presentation will discuss lessons learned such as promotion of program sustainability and strategies for implementing primary prevention activities. We will also identify barriers to implementation such as limiting assess to services and address coalition building strategies.

Learning Objectives: Conference participants will be able to

• Learn strategies for help-seeking and self-care among women of color experiencing intimate partner violence;
• Identify key strategies for coordinating a community response to reaching women from diverse ethnic/racial backgrounds;
• Develop culturally specific approaches to addressing intimate partner violence (IPV) among African American women

Keywords: Violence Prevention, Minority Health

Related Web page: www.cdc.gov/ncipc

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.