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In November 1997, organized the National Symposium on La Violencia Domestica: En Emerging Dialogue Among Latinos, which was held in Washington D.C. The Symposium brought together an interdisciplinary group of forty Latinos and Latinas including advocates, community activists, practitioners, lawyers, researchers, and domestic violence survivors to: initiate a national dialogue about domestic violence in Latino communities—needs, concerns, assets and to begin to make recommendations for what actions needed to take place.

Published and disseminated several thousand copies of the report of the proceedings and recommendations of the National Symposium on La Violencia Doméstica: An Emerging Dialogue Among Latinos.

Held a Strategic Planning Meeting in 2000 to concretize its goals and objectives; this led to the development of a proposal submitted to DHHS that resulted in a multiple year grant, making possible the hiring of staff and the implementation of several initiatives and projects. At this meeting, the group selected the Violence Intervention Program, Inc., in New York City to serve as its host agency during Alianza’s initial phase of operation.

In June 2000, the Alianza organized the First National Latino Policy Summit on Domestic Violence. The Summit brought together 75 representatives from more than 50 national and regional domestic violence and other organizations that provide leadership and services in Latino communities to begin to plan a collaborative response to domestic violence in Latino communities. The Policy Summit marked the first time a national dialogue of this magnitude had taken place between experts from the Latino domestic violence community—community activists, advocates, practitioners, researchers, and survivors—and leaders from such diverse fields as immigration, women’s and children’s rights, public health, substance abuse and mental health, civil rights, religion, and the elderly. The Summit brought the Alianza one step closer to developing a National Latino Domestic Violence Policy Agenda that will provide a blueprint for organizing important initiatives at the local, regional, and national levels that will help prevent and end domestic violence. Download a pdf version of the Executive Summary of the Policy Summit Report.)

Alianza, in partnership with the National Compadres Network, which heads its Training and Techical Assistant Component, organized a two-day national dialogue­Forum on Latinos Who Batter:  Hope for Those Who Hurt Others. The Forum, which took place in April 2001, in Pasadena, CA, presented and discussed seven models that work with Latinos who batter:

• Cultural Competence in Connecticut: Evolve Program -- Fernando Mederos and Oliver Williams

• National Compadres Network: El Hombre Buscando Su Balance -- Ricardo Carrillo, Rolando Gouboud-Reyna, Samuel Martinez, and Jerry Tello

• CECEVIM: A Culturally Appropriate Model for Working with Latino Abusers -- Antonio Ramirez

• Caminar Latino: A Comprehensive Intervention for Latino Families Affected by Domestic Violence--Julia Perilla and Felipe Perez

• Poder y Control: Tácticas de Hombres que Abusan/Power and Control: Tactics Used by Abusive Men: The Duluth Curriculum in Spanish--Luis Aravena

• CORIAC Intervention Model in Mexico (Men Renouncing their Violence)--Roberto Garda

• The National Latina/o Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Organization (LLEGÓ): Love that Kills: In Search of a Theoretical Model to Work with Latino Gay Men Who Batter Their Partners--Luis Nieves-Rosa & Martín Ornelas-Quinter

Alianza helped organize the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Family Violence Prevention and Services Program’s Multi-Cultural Form on Violence Against Women: The Millennium Continuum held in July 2001 in Puerto Rico. This forum brought together anti-domestic violence advocates from across the United States, the Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to discuss how combating domestic violence must be done with cultural competence and sensitivity to allow for the realities of cultural difference.  Advocates discussed and shared their varied approaches to the problems of domestic violence.   

Alianza has created a Community Education and Development Committee (CE&D) which is made up of 20 members, including four persons from Alianza (Adelita Medina, Sandra Camacho, Patricia Castillo, and Martin Ornelas-Quintero); representatives from three major partners (the Hispanic Radio Network/Self-Reliance Foundation; SoBe Planning, a Miami-based corporation that does strategic corporate marketing, brand planning, and consumer research; and the National Domestic Violence Hotline).  Also serving on the Committee are the former editor of VISTA Magazine; a Public Health Consultant; a representative from Coordinadora Paz Para la Mujer in Puerto Rico; representatives from several local, regional, and national DV organizations, and two college students. The Board Members’ collective expertise and skills include: marketing, fundraising, conducting focus groups, community outreach and education, direct services, and public health education, and print and electronic media. They are all providing pro bono services in their respective fields and are in the process of seeking additional experts and resources to help plan, finance, and implement the campaign.

The CE&D Committee is developing a national campaign with culturally relevant prevention and intervention messages, including a bilingual informational kit with fact sheets, list of programs and services, key websites, hotline numbers, etc.

The Alianza has also created a Policy Advocacy Committee modeled after its successful Community Education and Development Committee. Fifteen individuals have responded to Alianza’s invitation to form part of the committee and held their first conference call on November 26, 2001. The Committee will continue to conduct business via periodic conference calls, and plans to convene a meeting in the spring of 2002 in New York. The primary objectives of the Policy Committee are to:  

• Review the Alianza Policy Summit Report to select and prioritize key recommendations that came out of the Summit and strategize about how best to implement them;

• Participate in efforts to continue defining a comprehensive National Latino Public Policy Agenda that will engage Latino organizations and individuals in the overall movement to end domestic violence;

• Provide input and guide the efforts of Alianza staff to monitor and disseminate information about domestic violence policies and legislation; and

• Help to ensure that Latinos/as have a say in developing policies that significantly affect and address the needs of our communities

On March 14 and 15, 2002, Alianza, in collaboration with Georgia State University in Atlanta, organized a national Research Forum (Encuentro). The Research Forum brought together some 50 academic researchers, college students, domestic violence advocates and practitioners, and members of government agencies, to begin to create an agenda for El Centro that will lead to the development of research that heals, understands, supports, and transforms Latina/Latino communities and society in the area of domestic violence.  Specific objectives included:

• Identifying gaps and models/assets in current literature regarding domestic violence in Latino/Latina communities;

• Promoting culturally competent/relevant research by establishing basic criteria and guidelines;

• Promoting a paradigm shift on how research is conducted and how community services are provided to bring about social change; and

• Establishing collaborative partnerships and ongoing dialogue between academic researchers, service providers, advocates, and community member