With anti-Black racism uniquely impacting Black women and girls who are sexually victimized, a unifying, empirically testable framework that incorporates a critical race perspective to examining Black women and girls' experiences of sexual violence is warranted. Dr. Jennifer M. GOmez created cultural betrayal trauma theory (CBTT) to address an implicit misconception in the literature that dominates theoretical and methodological frameworks for examining the impact of violence- interpersonal traumas, such as rape, are solely interpersonal. In CBTT, Dr. GOmez builds upon Black feminist scholarship, ethnic minority trauma psychology, and betrayal trauma theory to provide a theoretical framework for empirically examining the impact of violence on marginalized peoples across the lifespan. Cultural Betrayal is the first book to use the CBTT research to contribute to academic and national discussions regarding anti-Black racism and sexual violence. With CBTT as the foundation, this book incorporates four literatures - structural intersectionality, sexual violence against Black women and girls, cultural competency in clinical and extra-therapeutic intervention, and institutional change - to provide a single resource for understanding and addressing sexual violence on the individual, institutional, and societal levels.
Jennifer M. Gomez, PhD, is an incoming Stanford University CASBS Fellow (2021-22), current lead guest co-editor of a special issue of Journal of Trauma & Dissociation (JTD), Discrimination, Violence & Healing in Marginalized Communities (Spring 2021 publication date), MCUAAAR Research Scientist (2019-2020), Member of the Dartmouth External Advisory Board for their Campus Climate and Culture Initiative (C31), Board Member & Chair of the Research Advisory Committee at Center for Institutional Courage, and former Ford Fellow (2015-16; 2018-19), National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Kavli Fellow (2019), and guest co-editor of another special issue of JTD, Self Injury & Suicidality: The Impact of Trauma & Dissociation (2015). Having published over 60 peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, other scholarly writings, and pieces for the general public in the areas of violence & inequality, she created cultural betrayal trauma theory (CBTT) as a Black feminist theoretical framework for empirically examining violence and mental, physical, behavioral, and cultural health outcomes for Black and other marginalized youth, young adults, and elders within the impactful context of structural inequality. Her work has already advanced thinking in violence research, with invitations to share her research and its implications as a plenary speaker at the International Society for the Study of Trauma & Dissociation (ISSTD) International Conference (2021), panelist at the Stanford University CASBS' Social Science for a World In Crisis Series (2021), invited speaker at the NASEM Action Collaborative on Preventing Sexual Harassment in Higher Education Public Summit (2019, 2020), and invited speaker at University of Toronto (2019, 2021) and University of Michigan (2019, 2021), among others. Her work has had a demonstrative public impact, with over 633,000 readers of her article (2019) detailing CBTT and sexual abuse in the Black community in The Conversation.
Foreword Thema Bryant Preface Acknowledgements Introduction: What's Racism Got To Do With It? Black Women & Girls, Sexual Abuse & Liberation Chapter 1: Black Women & Girls: Racism & Intersectional Oppression Chapter 2: The 'Rape Problem' & Secondary Marginalization Against Black Women & Girls Chapter 3: Cultural Betrayal Trauma Theory: Framework, Evidence & Future Directions Chapter 4: Trauma-Informed and Culturally Competent Therapy: Holistic Healing Chapter 5: Radical Healing in the Black Community Chapter 6: Institutional Courage to Change the World Conclusion: What Does It All Mean? From Micro- to Macro-Level Change
