Disseminating the Community Advocacy Project in Mexico: A Feasibility Study

The Community Advocacy Project is an evidence-based practice that has been shown to lead to numerous positive changes in the lives of intimate partner violence (IPV) survivors. Prior research conducted in the Midwest United States, and with primarily African American and Anglo American survivors, has shown that this short-term, community-based advocacy intervention results in increased safety and quality of life even 2 years after the intervention ends. The current study describes the process of culturally adapting and disseminating this program in Monterrey, Mexico, with a sample of low-income Mexican IPV survivors exposed to a variety of considerable contextual stressors. Interviews were conducted with advocates, advocate supervisors, and survivors to examine the acceptability and utility of the intervention. Twenty-seven IPV survivors, seven advocates, and four advocate supervisors participated in the intervention research. Advocates and their supervisors were highly laudatory, believing the intervention to be culturally relevant and effective. Encouraging changes were found for survivors as well, with positive changes over time being found on safety, quality of life, social support, and depression.