The following quotes are responses to the following question from leading domestic violence advocates participating in an effort funded by the Blue Shield of California Foundation to strengthen cultural competency to end domestic violence (DV).
What’s the message you want to give to those who think cultural competency doesn’t matter?
“Cultural competency is the foundation of how we communicate. It’s our ability to connect. It’s our ability to share and learn and make decisions together. In our work with Inter Tribal Council of California serving diverse tribes, it’s imperative that we’re able to communicate proficiently with not only the diverse tribes that we serve, but also the providers, the funders, the County, various different officials… It’s important that we make a connection and that we can share our stories.”
-Paul Tupaz, ITCC
“In our diverse society, in our diverse state, we can’t really begin to truly affect the trauma-informed needs without beginning to look at the cultural needs of the client.”
-Nilda Valmores, My Sister’s House
“Offering culturally appropriate services is important because they facilitate the process for the survivor and make it so the services she needs are at an accessible level and at the right time.”
-Maria Jimenez, Mujeres Unidas y Activas
“We on this planet are a variety of diverse people. If you do not acknowledge a person’s culture, you’re not acknowledging the whole person and the richness that they bring. So if you consider yourself a human being who has a sense of care for other people, then you have to focus on culture. It’s part of our humanity.”
-Adrienne Bausley, California Black Women’s Health Project
“I would like for people to foster sincere and honest relationships – and cultural competency is needed to do that.”
-Holly Hensher, HDVS
In my next post, I’ll talk a bit about using measures of noncognitive traits in educational assessment.