Cultural Sensitivity and Gang Interventions

• NCJ Number: 137913
• Author(s): F I Soriano
• Date Published: Unknown
• Length: 45 pages
• Publication Format: Document
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: To be included in: The Gang Intervention Handbook, Arnold P. Goldstein, C. Ronald Huff, eds.

Annotation

Cultural sensitivity toward ethnic minority gangs requires that the multiple social roles and identities of individual gang members be understood and taken into consideration in community intervention programs.

Abstract

This paper critically reviews various commonly accepted operational approaches to cultural sensitivity and proposes a definition of cultural sensitivity based on an existing tridimensional approach that concentrates on building self-awareness, cultural knowledge, and interpersonal skills. Cultural sensitivity is important at all organizational levels, including program sponsors and administrators, and is not relevant only to outreach or street workers. 61 references