Disentangle Intersectionalities and Solve Systemic Inequities

Direct services targeted to individuals are essential yet insufficient to address the complex impacts (and root causes) of trauma, toxic stress and/or adversity (1). 

A public health approach to violence prevention focuses on addressing root causes of violence and takes action at three levels: 

The Contra Costa County Call to Action serves as a guide for coordinated and strategic action for prevention of interpersonal violence including: 

By developing a lasting framework, we are better positioned to understand and prevent interpersonal violence. The following four goals provide the foundation for collaborative efforts.

Call to Action.png

The Call to Action recognizes that we all have a role in building healthier, more supportive, caring, systems and communities that foster safety and resilience. 

Click here for more about the Call to Action and learn more about the public health approach to violence prevention. 

We must start this work by focusing on disentangling intersectionalities and addressing system inequities. The framework of intersectionality was developed by Kimberlé Crenshaw. This framework states that interacting systems of oppression intersect in ways that create disadvantage or discrimination for certain groups. These interactions can shape social determinants of health and produce major differences in peoples’ lived experiences (2, 3). 

Lisa De La Rue advocates for explicit inclusion of issues of intersectionality and resilience in prevention and intervention efforts. 

Moving away from a focus on people’s deficits allows for opportunities to tap into strengths of individuals and communities to promote resilience (4). 

Healing and resilience grow when we can bring our full selves into that process—when intersecting roles, identities, experiences and needs are welcome and safe (5). Tiombe Wallace, MS, MFT 

We have learned that trauma, toxic stress, and/or adversity can be impactful in people’s lives. Similarly, healing is also shaped by the intersectional and shared identities of race, gender, or sexual orientation.

Addressing intersections of disadvantage through solving systemic inequities goes beyond a Band-Aid or checkbox approach addressing “symptoms” (such as demographic representation). It requires us to: 

  • Learn about root causes of inequities, starting with racial inequity. 

  • Acknowledge that policies and practices are driven by racial bias and systems have been built for the advantage of white populations and the disadvantage of people due to racial or other identities (6, 7, 8). 

  • Recognize inequities (disparities) contribute to education, health care, housing, race, and gender inequalities.

  • Take action to address  the root causes of these inequities and the environmental context that causes harm (9). 

This work must include…….

The following interactive tool guides us to learn about how we might come together to solve systemic inequities and create environments for all people to experience healing, resilience, and thriving.

In the Contra Costa County Call to Action: Preventing Interpersonal Violence participants in the community survey and focus groups prioritized the following: 

  • Increasing investment in understanding and addressing the root causes of violence.

  • Addressing social and economic inequities created at the system level (such as the income gap, gender and racial inequalities, and health disparities). 

    • Addressing structural bias, which occurs when institutions such as schools, banks, businesses, or government agencies reinforce biases like racism, prejudice against people with low incomes, and other types of injustice. 

    • Utilizing Targeted Universalism: tailoring strategies for and investing in communities that have faced the greatest inequities over generations.

  • Acknowledging current and past harms. 

    • As a result of violence by law enforcement and other government agencies, and responses to the violence, distrust exists between county government systems and county residents. A strong desire was expressed for acknowledgement of current and past harms.

“Safety is not a service to be provided, but a result of conditions where people feel nurtured and have meaningful and equitable opportunity.” – Call to Action planning participant

We must work together to transform the conditions that perpetuate violence and instead help people thrive (10, 11).

Thriving =

optimal conditions of justice 

control of life

collective power

pursuit of dreams

collective responsibility

sense of collective peace (12)

 

Sources:

  1. Porter, Martin & Anda (2017). Culture Matters: Direct service programs cannot solve widespread, complex, intergenerational social problems. Culture change can. Academic Pediatrics. Volume 17, Issue 7, Supplement S22-S23. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.ACAP.2016.11.006

  2. To learn more about intersectionality visit Kimberlé Crenshaw: The urgency of intersectionality - TED Talk. https://www.ted.com/talks/kimberle_crenshaw_the_urgency_of_intersectionality?language=en or Kimberlé Crenshaw on Intersectionality, More than Two Decades Later (2017) https://www.law.columbia.edu/news/archive/kimberle-crenshaw-intersectionality-more-two-decades-later#:~:text=Crenshaw%3A%20Intersectionality%20is%20a%20lens,class%20or%20LBGTQ%20problem%20there

  3. López & Gadsden. 2016. Health Inequities, Social Determinants, and Intersectionality. NAM Perspectives. Discussion Paper, National Academy of Medicine, Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.31478/201612a

  4. Lisa De La Rue (2019) Intersectionality and Resilience: Updating How We Address Adolescent Dating Violence. American Journal of Public Health 109(10):1324-1325. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/336181426_Intersectionality_and_Resilience_Updating_How_We_Address_Adolescent_Dating_Violence

  5. Tiombe Wallace. Impact of Trauma, Violence, and Stress on Health (Presentation). http://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/bos/supdocs/113136.pdf

  6. Nicole Anand (2019) ‘Checkbox Diversity’ Must Be Left Behind for DEI Efforts to Succeed. Stanford Social Innovation Review https://ssir.org/articles/entry/checkbox_diversity_must_be_left_behind_for_dei_efforts_to_succeed

  7. Ginwright & Seigel (2019) Social Innovation Alone Can’t Solve Racial Inequity Stanford Social Innovation Review https://ssir.org/articles/entry/social_innovation_alone_cant_solve_racial_inequity

  8. Reid, Nariño, Magge & Sassi (2019) Advancing Equity in Health Systems by Addressing Racial Justice Stanford Social Innovation Review https://ssir.org/articles/entry/advancing_equity_in_health_systems_by_addressing_racial_justice#bio-footer

  9. Shawn Ginwright (2018). The Future of Healing: Shifting From Trauma Informed Care to Healing Centered Engagement. https://medium.com/@ginwright/the-future-of-healing-shifting-from-trauma-informed-care-to-healing-centered-engagement-634f557ce69c

  10. Iris Garcia. Building a Case for Healing Justice. Akonadi Foundation. https://akonadi.org/blog/building-a-case-for-healing-justice/

  11. Staci Haines (2019). The Politics of Trauma: Somatics, Healing, and Social Justice. North Atlantic Books

  12. Tashika McBride. Language as Liberation and Trauma Sensitive Learning Environments. International Institute for Restorative Practices, Radical Healing https://www.iirp.edu/images/pdf/IIRP-Radical-Healing-presentation.pdf