Rape Prevention and Education: Assessing Coalition Capacity to Advance Primary Prevention
FY23: CDC-RFA-CE-23-0006
Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition (MIWSAC)
1619 Dayton Ave. Suite 202 St. Paul, MN. 55104
651-646-4800 | www.miwsac.org
Project Abstract Summary
The Minnesota Indian Women’s Sexual Assault Coalition, (MIWSAC), a statewide tribal coalition and national Tribal technical assistance provider, has worked since 2001 to end gender-based violence and enhance Tribal, state, and federal responses to sexual violence and sex trafficking. MIWSAC uses culturally based training, technical assistance, strategies, resources, tools, and a wide range of events and activities to engage and support survivors of sexual violence, advocates, service providers, community, and allies that are working to end sexual violence and sex trafficking across Minnesota’s 11 federally recognized Tribal Nations, urban Native bases, and Tribal communities across the country. MIWSAC’s mission statement is “Through unity we will strengthen our voices and build resources to create awareness and eliminate sexual violence against Indian women and children. We will vigorously apply our efforts toward influencing social change and reclaim our traditional values that honor the sovereignty of Indian women and children.”
This application proposes to conduct a Primary Prevention Capacity Assessment and utilize culturally meaningful perspectives and practices to develop equity-focused strategies, strengthen our data practices, and continue to collaborate with Minnesota Department of Health (MDH), Rape, Prevention and Education (RPE), and other tribal sexual assault/domestic violence coalitions to promote health equity, and advance primary prevention efforts.
In this first year, MIWSAC intends to first cultivate our own proficiency in making clear connections between preventing sexual violence and addressing health equity by conducting a Primary Prevention Capacity Assessment to document our current range of resources and gaps, strengthen our data management and usage, expand our collaborative partnerships, and based on the assessment findings, create a culturally meaningful action plan with equity-focused strategies to promote health equity and advance primary prevention efforts in the Native community.
Outcomes Include:
- Conduct a Primary Prevention Capacity Assessment
- Convene a Summit with sister Tribal Coalitions to expand non-competitive collaboration
- Increased capacity to incorporate health equity into our prevention work
- Clear connections made between preventing sexual violence and addressing health equity in the Native community
- MIWSAC and partners collaboratively address health equity and advance primary prevention efforts in the Native community
