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CARe: Communities Against Rape Initiative Minority Outreach Component

Mission:

The goal of the CARe Initiative is to bring people together and engage them in an ongoing dialog and assessment of comprehensive sexual assault prevention activities. Our hope is that this process will result in a reduction in the incidence of rape and sexual assault; communities with "zero tolerance" for these crimes; and a safer, healthier Indiana for everyone.

Organization:

The CARe: Communities Against Rape Initiative is a statewide effort in Indiana to reduce the incidence of rape and sexual assault through prevention education. Minority Outreach is part of the larger CARe: Communities Against Rape Initiative. Administered through Purdue University, CARe is funded by the Indiana State Department of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Rape Prevention Education Grant. Mary Pilat, Ph.D., is the principal investigator.

Youth:

One out of every four females will be the victim of sexual violence in their lifetime. Over half the victims of rape and sexual assault are under the age of 17. Therefore, parents need information on how to protect and educate their daughters about sexually appropriate behaviors. It is particularly important for Latino parents to be knowledgeable on empowering and educating their daughters since Latinas now comprise the largest population of minority girls in the United States and are projected to remain so for the next 50 years. The National Violence Against Women Survey found that Latina women were less likely to report rape victimization than non-Latina women. The CARe Initiative works for the empowerment of Latinos and strives to educate Latino families and youth about interpersonal violence prevention by providing materials and activities that are culturally salient. CARe also recognizes the need for every voice to be heard and provides support, unity, and a safe space for Latinos to discuss and explore their thoughts and opinions on sexual violence.

Initiatives:

CARe recognizes the correlation between drug/alcohol use, feelings of low self-esteem, and sexual violence. This knowledge led us to the ¡Soy Unica! ¡Soy Latina! site when searching for materials to use for last year's Multicultural Gathering entitled "Machismo." At the "Machismo" Gathering, we focused on new ways to define machismo and how to work with Latino males and their families. ¡Soy Unica! ¡Soy Latina! materials were distributed to 47 professionals serving 120 Latino communities in Indiana. After each conference or event, I receive numerous phone calls and e-mails commenting about how wonderful the ¡Soy Unica! ¡Soy Latina! materials are. This year, we have distributed ¡Soy Unica! ¡Soy Latina! materials to participants at the statewide Latino Summit, the Latinos Count in 2003 conference, and the Indiana Minority Health Coalition training. We have also distributed the monthly information sheets on sexual assault prevention from April of this year. People have been thrilled with the materials and continue to ask for more. ¡Soy Unica! ¡Soy Latina! materials are useful in sexual violence prevention because they provide a picture of how la familia can help in the growth and creation of strong, vibrant Latina girls. These materials provide a springboard for a dialog in the family about topics that previously might have been considered taboo. At the CARe Initiative, as we plan for our future outreach work in the Latino community, ¡Soy Unica! ¡Soy Latina! has become a valuable tool and resource for our work in empowering and strengthening the voice of young Latina women.

Contact:

Kimber Nicoletti, MSW
CARe Minority Outreach Coordinator
CARe: Communities Against Rape
Purdue University
1161 AGAD Room 214
615 W. State Street
West Lafayette, IN 47906
(765)494-6871
(765)496-7383 fax
E-mail: knicolet@purdue.edu

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