Abstract
In this 90-minute webinar, Dr. Gómez will center U.S. Black women as relates to their lifetime histories of sexual abuse. First, she will provide a basic primer on structural racism (Neblett, 2022) and intersectional oppression (e.g., interlocking racism and sexism; Collins, 2017) that impact Black women. She then will detail her research with cultural betrayal trauma theory (CBTT; e.g., Giroux et al., 2023), which she created as a Black feminist scientific framework for examining the unique cultural betrayal harm of within-group violence in marginalized communities, including specifically Black male perpetrated sexual abuse against Black women. According to CBTT, (intra)cultural trust, such as solidarity in the Black community, is a protective factor against racism and intersectional oppression. As a violation of (intra)cultural trust, within-group violence is a cultural betrayal trauma. Research has shown that cultural betrayal trauma is associated with mental health outcomes, such as dissociation, and cultural outcomes, such as internalized prejudice (Howard Valdivia et al., 2023). To address cultural betrayal sexual trauma clinically with Black women, Gómez will introduce the liberation health framework from Belkin Martinez and colleagues as a model for incorporating cultural competency into therapy: 1) connecting clients’ mental health with their social conditions, such as oppression and trauma; 2) focusing solutions on both individual and societal levels; 3) centralizing the client’s worldview and understanding of their life into treatment; 4) promoting critical consciousness and agency within clients, while focusing on the impact of oppression in their lives; and 5) engaging in collaboration with clients in all facets of treatment. Given the role of institutions in both harm and healing, Dr. Gómez will shift to focusing on institutional change. From her book, The Cultural Betrayal of Black Women & Girls: A Black Feminist Approach to Healing from Sexual Abuse, she will share a fictionalized vignette from a non-profit organization, in which structural and interpersonal discrimination infiltrated strategic discussions on preventing and addressing sexual violence in the community. Within this example, she will identify the institutional betrayals, institutional courage steps to remedy the harm, and dreamstorming of a world in which equality were central in both process and outcomes anti-violence work. Finally, Dr. Gómez will close by discussing the necessity of hope amidst belonging to institutions and societies that remain violent and unequal.

Potential to distress: No