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Sexual Violence: Isabella\u2019s Story<\/b>\n<\/b>Services accessed: Transportation assistance, interpretation, legal assistance and accompaniment, emotional support services,\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Sexual Violence: Isabella\u2019s Story<\/b>
\n<\/b>Services accessed: Transportation assistance, interpretation, legal assistance and accompaniment, emotional support services,\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Isabella, a young Spanish-speaking woman with four children, sought our help to put an end to the 10 years of verbal and sexual assault she had experienced. She had abstained from seeking help from neighbors, friends, or authorities due to the psychological manipulation which was maintained by her abuser\u2019s threat that, as an undocumented immigrant, she would be criminalized. This, of course, was not true. But the cultural barrier allowed her abuser to maintain control over the situation, to isolate her, and to enter her space and assault her consistently.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Due to the many limitations that exist for undocumented immigrants, Isabella did not have a driver’s license or a car. This meant she could not independently transport herself, which complicated many other facets of life for her including getting to the LIVE Center to receive help. We provided Isabella with transportation to come to our physical space so we could learn more about her situation.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The LIVE Center helped Isabella file for a protective order and accompanied and supported her through the proceedings that followed. Our advocates provided emotional support, helped inform Isabella of her rights and options to seek safety and protection directly in her own language, while bridging the cultural gaps of information.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n During the days and weeks that followed, the LIVE Center followed up with Isabella, reminding her of what she should do if the protective order was violated. During follow up calls, the LIVE Center and Isabella continued to build trust and through the LIVE Center\u2019s bi-cultural and bilingual counseling services, Isabella stated she was finally ready to file a police report about the multiple rapes. The LIVE Center assisted Isabella to file the report by coordinating transportation to the police station, maintaining contact with the detective assigned to Isabella\u2019s case, and providing an advocate and an interpreter to accompany her to the interview with the detective.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Isabella said, \u201cI know I\u2019m not where I need to be yet, and I\u2019m not sure if that will ever happen. But I\u2019m in a good place. Finding LIVE Center was like finding a little piece of home in the US. People who understand my language, my culture. I\u2019m telling everybody I know about them, not to be afraid to look for help. Know we are not alone. Thank you LIVE Center!\u201d <\/span>(Quote translated from Spanish)<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sexual Violence: Isabella\u2019s Story Services accessed: Transportation assistance, interpretation, legal assistance and accompaniment, emotional support services,\u00a0 Isabella, a young Spanish-speaking woman with four children, sought our help to put an end to the 10 years of verbal and sexual assault she had experienced. She had abstained from seeking help from neighbors, friends, or authorities due […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4846","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n