Empowering Vulnerable Population "Faafafine" in American Samoa thru Office of Violence against Women (OVW) Rural Program

By: Karallyn Fitisone
At the American Samoa Alliance Against Domestic and Sexual Violence (Alliance), there has always been a priority to understand the experience of violence amongst our people in an effort to combat, mitigate, decrease, or prevent instances of violence. The ways that this priority is approached is evident through the mission of the Alliance which is to empower individuals and communities through collaboration, promoting resiliency, and strengthening capacities to eliminate domestic and sexual violence. Through various projects, grants, and discussions, the Alliance has become a forefront in the community when it comes to conversations surrounding DV/SA. A topic that is currently being addressed goes by the name “Rural Grant Project” and as the name implies, the Rural Grant, was granted by the Office of Violence Against Women (OVW) through the United States Department of Justice, for rural populations which American Samoa is considered. For this specific project there is a focus on our fa’afafine population.
Some Context/History
Fa’afafine are often recognized, not legally, as Samoa’s third gender. Fa’afine do not follow “western” constructs of gender identity and sexual orientation. However, they are often described or associated with transgender terminologies. Fa’afafine are amongst several existing non-binary populations from indigenous peoples. Some non-binary or gender-fluid groups from indigenous populations include the Muxe from Mexico, Nadleehi from the Navajo tribe, and Hijras from South Asia. Much of the existing literature surrounding BIPOC transgendered (2- spirited/gender fluid/non-cisgender/non-binary) individuals in the context of violence is sparse especially as society often focuses primarily on heterosexual/cisgnedered individuals. This is alarming considering that transgender populations are said to suffer greater burdens of IPV, experiences of threats or intimidation, harassment, and police violence. Secondary data analyses from the National Transgender Discrimination Survey, conducted in 2008 to 2009 by the National Center for Transgender Equality and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force had some profound findings. 1) Transgender individuals who are low-income and not U.S. citizens are more likely to experience unequal treatment based upon being transgender or gender nonconforming. 2) Within domestic violence programs, transgender people of color, those with disabilities, and those more frequently perceived to be transgender by others are more likely to experience unequal treatment (Seelman, K. L, 2015).
So what is the issue? How are we going to investigate it?
Given that non-gender conforming individuals experience nationally, and internationally heightened instances of violence, it is critical that we seek to understand our own culturally established groups of non-cisgendered/gender-non-conforming individuals. Fa’afafine are a marginalized group that are likely to be exposed to violence at higher rates than non-fa’afafine. At Talanoa (Talking) Tables with the Alliance, the Society of Fa’afafine in American Samoa (SOFIAS) members had shared their experiences of violence and discrimination by cisgendered males, systemic bias by police officers and other first responders, negative judgement, and being called deceitful for acting like a woman. This treatment has caused a reluctance amongst fa’afafine to report crimes of sexual abuse to police or reluctance to access healthcare systems due to fear of judgement, victim blaming, or shaming their families, as there continues to be stigma surrounding DV/SA. Over the past months, the Alliance had gathered information from 200 fa’afafine in American Samoa via a survey to capture sociodemographic variables as well as having discussions and focus groups to gather their insights about their experiences of violence and to whom they go to for help. The project is currently in the second phase looking at investigating service provision from providers who might directly or indirectly be a part of the process of helping fa’afafine victims of DV/SA (whether that’s extensive, minimal, non-inclusive, inclusive, or non-existent). These providers are being contacted from various sectors in the community: politicians, clergy, community institutions or organizations, health care/social services, criminal justice, and schools. Understanding the service providers experience, knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with service provision to non-cisgendered individuals (ie. in this case- fa’afafine) is crucial to informing change and positive outcomes.
What outcomes are we aiming for:
While there is still some time before any definitive conclusions are made, it is the hope that through this project, there is an improved awareness on relevant issues surrounding both service provision and fa’afafine that will in turn increase collaboration amongst service providers and service users. One major goal of the discussions from both fa’afafine and service providers is to inform the development of a training curriculum plan, as well as an outreach plan for fa’afafine advocates. The training curricula will be for DVSA advocates who serve fa’afafine, as well as health and allied service providers. This advocacy helps to promote more safe spaces for fa’afafine victims. As it was expressed throughout initial surveys of fa’afafine, many fa’afafine feel most comfortable sharing their experiences of DV/SA with other fa’afafine, which is why another goal is to recruit fa’afafine trainees to deliver services to fa’afafine victims of DVSA with a focus on piloting “gold standard” practices to mitigate the impact of violence experiences by fa’afafine. Both training and outreach will emphasize the creation of safe spaces, empathy, and understanding experiences of fa’afafine and service providers who serve them. It is through the curriculum that we hope that users are inspired to recognize the value of empowering one another to improve our society.
This project will provide us with invaluable information that we know has never been investigated before. We hope that this project stimulates conversations of inclusivity, violence, gender, sexuality, and culture and how they can all sometimes intersect and how we should actively be reflecting on ways in which we can be more compassionate and really just more human. We hope that this project opens up the door for investigation, to shed more visibility on violence experienced by other marginalized groups such as the LGBTQIA+  and racial and ethnic minorities on the island of American Samoa.  For more information on the Rural Grant Project feel free to contact the Alliance, contact information can be found here - http://www.asalliance.co/contact.html. Follow along on any of the Alliance social media pages or check in to the alliance website for updates on project progress! Thank you for reading! ​