Community engagement with faith-based organizations: Supporting Latin@ survivors of intimate partner violence  

04 September 2025

Supporting Latin@ survivors of intimate partner violence through faith-based community engagement 

Faith-based organizations often serve as trusted hubs for spiritual, emotional, and material support. For Latin@ survivors of intimate partner violence, these spaces can be both healing and challenging. Domestic violence organizations can better support survivors by building intentional partnerships with religious and spiritual communities that honor cultural values while centering survivor autonomy. 

Cultural and religious context 

In many Latin@ communities, religion and spirituality are important values that offer strength, comfort, and a sense of belonging. They influence individual worldviews and community practices but are not necessarily equally essential for everyone in the Latin@ community. These values exist alongside others such as family, mutual aid, and respect – and are shaped by cultural traditions, family dynamics, and community context, so individuals may experience them differently.  

Familismo and Marianismo are central cultural values in Latin@ communities. Familismo emphasizes loyalty, closeness, and mutual support within the family, prioritizing collective well-being over individual interests and sustaining family unity even at personal cost. Marianismo, rooted in the Virgin Mary archetype, calls for women to embody – and for society to idealize – a self-sacrificing, pure, devoted, and morally superior woman in service of men and family. 

However, some cultural values and norms can complicate help-seeking and inhibit disclosure of abuse. In this case, survivors may fear judgement or feel pressure to maintain family harmony and reputation, leading to underreporting within faith-based settings. 

At the same time, religion, spirituality, and family bonds can serve as powerful sources of healing. Research highlights how familismo supports emotional development and can lower suicide risk among Latin@ youth communities (Peña, 2011). Similarly, spiritual practices often offer survivors a sense of resilience, hope, and connection (de la Rosa et al, 2016).  

The impact depends on how these values are used as tools of empowerment and justice, or as mechanisms of shame and silence. 

Barriers to help seeking for Latin@ survivors 

Latin@ survivors of intimate partner violence often face multiple intersecting barriers, including: 

  • Little or no accessibility in their preferred language for people with limited English proficiency    
  • Transportation challenges 
  • Lack of financial stability 
  • Limited access to health  
  • Stigma around airing family issues 
  • Fear of losing community and support networks 
  • Religious condemnation of divorce or separation 

These barriers highlight the need for culturally responsive and spiritually aware interventions. 

The role of faith-based organizations  

Faith communities can serve as protective or risk-enhancing spaces. Some faith-based intervention programs report that some Latin@s identify religious beliefs as part of their motivation to change, but it’s not usually the sole reason. We need more research to understand the role of faith in abusive behavior. In other cases, survivors report religious authority being used to justify control. 

Still, research shows that faith leaders and congregations are trusted messengers in Latin@ communities. Many Latin@ survivors see religious communities as safe spaces for support (Caplan & Cordero, 2015), making them critical allies in intimate partner violence response efforts. The key is alignment: meeting survivors where they are and using culturally and spiritually relevant language and practices that affirm survivor autonomy.  

Where do we begin? 

Integrating faith into intimate partner violence response requires intentionality. Strategies should reflect survivors’ values and be co-created with community input. Survivors often prefer receiving information from familiar, trusted sources such as fellow congregants, pastors, or community leaders, especially those who share their cultural background.  

That said, this only works if faith-based spaces are equipped with the knowledge and tools to respond to disclosures of intimate partner violence with reliable evidence-based practices and care. Trust and relationship building, collaboration, and trainings are essential.  

Practical recommendations for faith-based partnerships 

  • Learn and use cultural mapping 
  • Understand immigration status, languages, cultural norms, and family dynamics among congregants 
  • Organize joint trainings 
  • Offer bilingual, survivor-centred intimate partner violence education for faith leaders and staff, incorporating input from Latin@ survivors and faith community members 
  • Host community dialogues 
  • Organize conversations on consent, respect, and spiritual healing co- facilitated by faith leaders and survivor advocates 
  • Leverage the Promotora model and peer-led leadership tactics 
  • Train trusted Latin@ community members as peer educators, advocates, and connectors between survivors and services 
     

Strategic, trauma-informed partnerships between faith-based organizations and domestic violence providers can reduce barriers and open doors to healing for Latin@ survivors. By centering cultural strengths, survivor voices, and their spiritual context, these collaborations create safer, more affirming pathways to support.  

References:  

Peña, J. B., Kuhlberg, J. A., Zayas, L. H., Baumann, A. A., Gulbas, L., Hausmann-Stabile, C., & Nolle, A. P. (2011). Familism, family environment, and suicide attempts among Latina youth. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 41(3), 330–341. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1943-278X.2011.00032.x 

de la Rosa, I. A., Barnett-Queen, T., Messick, M., & Gurrola, M. (2016). Spirituality and resilience among Mexican American intimate partner violence survivors. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 31(20), 3332–3351. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260515584351 

González-Guarda, R. M., Cummings, A. M., Becerra, M., Fernandez, M. C., & Mesa, I. (2013). Needs and preferences for the prevention of intimate partner violence among Hispanics: A community’s perspective. The Journal of Primary Prevention, 34(4), 221–235. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-013-0312-5 

Caplan, S., & Cordero, C. (2015). Development of a faith-based mental health literacy program to improve treatment engagement among Caribbean Latinos in the Northeastern United States of America. International Quarterly of Community Health Education, 35(3), 199–214. https://doi.org/10.1177/0272684X15581347 

Serrata, J. V., Rodriguez, R., Castro, J. E., & Hernández-Martínez, M. (2020). Well-being of Latina survivors of intimate partner violence and sexual assault receiving trauma-informed and culturally-specific services. Journal of Family Violence, 35(2), 169–180. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10896-019-00049-z 

Derose, K. P., & Rodriguez, C. (2020). A systematic review of church-based health interventions among Latinos. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 22(4), 795–815. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-019-00941-2