Understanding Latina Experiences with Victimization, Intersectionality, and Discrimination (LAT-VIDA)

Efforts to account for diversity in VAW research have widened the lens to include marginalized and underserved populations such as Latinas. However, current demographic trends and advancements in intersectionality demand that efforts be redoubled and go beyond examining Latinas as a distinct group by exploring how various social statuses affect and transform the experience and response to violence and consider how discrimination creates the risk for victimization and a barrier to help-seeking. By including intersectionality in research designs and probing the role discrimination plays in victimization and help-seeking, a better understanding of racial and ethnic inequities can be understood.

The five goals of this study are to 1) determine the current extent of victimization among a nationally representative sample of Latina adults, 2) determine how intersectional social identities and related discrimination influence victimization experiences, 3) examine help-seeking experiences, including criminal justice alternatives, among victimized Latina adults, 4) examine mental health functioning for victimized Latinas, and 5) examine hope, social support, and ethnic identity as protective factors regarding mental health indicators among victimized Latinas.

To answer the study RQs, two methodologies will be used: 1) an online survey of a nationally representative sample of Latina women (n =2,000) garnered by Ipsos using their Knowledge Panel Latino, and 2) a face-to-face or self-administered online survey of marginalized Latinas (n =1,000) recruited through the help of Latinx-serving organizations and a community advisory board (CAB). Marginalized Latina groups to be sampled include Afro- Latina, Indigenous Latinas, Latinas with disabilities, elder Latinas, farmworkers and low-wage workers, queer Latinas, and trans Latinas. Measures will consist of the Lifetime Trauma and Victimization History, Sexual Experiences Questionnaire-Latinas, Everyday Discrimination Scale, Major Experiences of Discrimination Scale, Help-Seeking Questionnaire, including discrimination in help-seeking, Trauma Symptom Inventory, State Hope Scale, Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support, and Multigroup Ethnic Identity Measure. Study findings could answer questions that have not yet been studied by the field but are needed to respond to issues of demographic shifts, a deeper understanding of intersectionality, and a call to examine how racism and inequality impact the lives of Latinas. Deliverables include a final research report and study data that will be archived at NACJD, as well as factsheets, blog posts, webinars, and social media content that extend beyond the traditional academic outlets. CA/NCF