Friday, April 18, 2025
4/18/2025
Enhancing Capacity in American Samoa for Rape Prevention thru a Cultural Approach. - Purpose: The purpose of this project is to prevent sexual violence perpetration, and victimization in American Samoa. Thru this project the American Samoa Alliance against Domestic & Sexual Violence (Territorial Coalition), will unpack the issues in our community that support, and/or impact Rape Prevention from happening in our community. In this project we will describe how a homogenous community of Pacific Islanders, who are predominately native Samoans, will help to navigate and strengthen our community in their response to sexual violence and rape. The Alliance and our community will elaborate how the cultural aspects of the Fa'aSamoa (Samoan Way) that provides focus on the family unit are impacted by sexual violence and rape. In our community, spaces for women, children and Fa'afafine's (in the way of a woman) are limited, or restricted, which allows for masculinity behaviors to dominate many spaces. Together we will work to build learning patterns to help heal and build resiliency for victims to improve lives. For Samoan’s, men are considered the protector, they hold power within the family, as they are the head of house. Conceptions of masculinity are defined in three ways: risk-taking behavior, degrading relationships with women, focusing on sexual intercourse as an accomplishment versus a as human intimacy, and promoting violence to express power, dominance, and violence (Kilmartin & Allison, 2007). This project will focus on speak to the needs of female, youth adolescents and the Fa'afafine Community by focusing and navigating our villages through discussions of sexual assault and rape. Aiming on the impact of sexual assault on victims, families, and community. Outcomes: For many years the public health workers have been directing efforts to stop rape and sexual violence prevention programs, and in American Samoa at the time of this writing the Public Health has no rape prevention education program. The role in sexual violence prevention is a priority for the American Samoa Alliance against Domestic & Sexual Violence. It is our mission: to empower individuals and communities in American Samoa through collaboration, promoting resiliency and strengthening capacity to eliminate Domestic & Sexual Violence. This project is a combination of education, engagement and evaluation, all approaches used currently by the Alliance to help increase collective intentions about sexual assault and rape, to increase capacity and eliminate sexual violence. The approach of this project to advance and integrate prevention strategies and the mission, which aligns with the mission of the Alliance allows us to work with our multi-sector partners, is important as we engage our community.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).