Immigrant Survivors of Partner Violence
In 2017, the Alliance for Immigrant Women became Immigrant Survivors of Partner Violence (ISPV). The program now offers community outreach, technical assistance, expertise training on immigrant issues, cultural sensitivity, language access, and the ability to provide direct service and case consultation to immigrant survivors of partner violence.
ISPV has over 20 partner agencies that work to develop prevention and intervention programming and to coordinate services for immigrant or Limited English Proficiency (LEP) victims in the community to ensure they have access to necessary resources.
The YWCA serves as lead fiscal agent for this project and receives funding from the Office of Criminal Justice Services Justice Assistance Grant Fund and the Office of Violence Against Women to implement programming.
ISPV provides quarterly meetings convened with local service providers working with immigrant/refugee populations to inform the public on current immigrant/refugee issues.
Community Education & Technical Assistance
ISPV provides training to a wide range of audiences, including:
- Service providers,
- Law enforcement,
- Court personnel,
- Community-based organizations,
- Healthcare professionals,
- Student groups,
- Many other groups intersect with immigrants, refugees, limited English proficient individuals, and/or victims and survivors of domestic violence.
Our pieces of training focus on such topics as:
- Barriers and resources for immigrant survivors,
- Language accessibility and working with interpreters
- Cultural responsiveness,
- Trauma-informed advocacy for immigrant survivors,
- Immigration remedies for domestic violence victims and survivors.
Service providers also look to ISPV for expertise in the area of violence against immigrant survivors. We provide technical assistance to guide programs as they aim to make their services more accessible to immigrant survivors, and we frequently assist with individual cases as well.
Survivor Services
ISPV offers direct services to survivors of intimate partner violence, dating violence, sexual assault, and stalking, with a special focus on immigrant, refugee, and limited English proficient (LEP) survivors. Services include:
- Crisis intervention,
- Safety planning,
- Emergency shelter,
- Assistance filing police report or with criminal charges,
- Assistance with protection orders,
- Court accompaniment,
- Connection with community resources (including healthcare and mental health services, relocation, and housing),
- Connection with legal services (including immigration, divorce, and custody), and representation in protection order hearings,
- Danger screening and lethality assessment; and connection with community partners for cultural support.
All services provided are trauma-informed, non-judgmental, survivor-centered, and open to all survivors. Our staff is fully bilingual (Spanish and English) and will use professional interpretation services for all other languages.
For assistance, please call our Family Justice Center at 513.302.2175.
Advocacy
ISPV advocates for immigrant survivors through participation in local, regional, and state coalitions with the aim of creating and implementing policies that address the unique needs of immigrant victims and survivors. Our multidisciplinary Crime Victim Services team focuses on the reduction of domestic violence through strengthening coordinated community response and system-wide advocacy, lethality assessment, identification and management of offenders, and ongoing victim advocacy to support long-term safety.
Outreach & Referrals
ISPV provides outreach to immigrant communities to increase awareness about domestic violence and community resources. We also draw on a strong membership network to provide culturally appropriate referrals for immigrant victims of abuse.