What does it mean to build culturally responsive systems within gender-based violence work?
Hey! I’m Leah M. Forney, The Culture Doctor.
My work exists because you cannot train your way out of a culture problem.
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I support organizations working in gender-based violence prevention, response, and recovery to build culturally responsive systems that go beyond surface-level training and address the deeper cultural breakdowns that shape how survivors are supported, how services are delivered, and how systems respond in real time.
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Cultural responsiveness is not an add-on. It is a necessary foundation for effective practice. Without it, even well-intentioned organizations reproduce harm, miss critical context, and fail the very communities they are meant to serve.
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I serve leaders, advocates, and institutions in shifting from reactive approaches to intentional, culturally grounded systems change that actually transforms survivor outcomes.
My Survivorship Story
I am a survivor of both child sexual abuse and adult sexual assault.
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Sexual violation entered my life early, beginning around the age of eight, through exposure to inappropriate and sexualized behavior within my family environment. Like many survivors, my experience did not begin in adulthood. It was layered across my childhood, adolescence, and into my adult life, where I was sexually assaulted by a man I had only been on one date with.
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Like the data shows for so many survivors, my earliest experiences of harm happened before the age of 18. And like many survivors of color, my experiences were not isolated events. They were compounded over time, shaping how I saw myself, my body, and the world around me.
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For years, I struggled with self-trust, self-esteem, and feeling safe in my own body. I became hyper-aware of my surroundings, guarded in relationships, and carried the belief that my body was the only thing others saw when they looked at me.
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When I chose to seek justice as an adult, I encountered a system that did not believe me. My report was dismissed by law enforcement, and even in court, I was met with disbelief and bias. I was denied a restraining order, and my case was never taken forward.
9 Years later, my rape kit was still not tested in a timely way. An experience that reflects what far too many survivors endure within systems that are meant to protect them.
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These experiences are what led me into advocacy and activism.
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I began this work not from theory, but from lived experience and I have now spent over a decade working at the intersection of advocacy, training, and systems change. In that time, I have seen how deeply cultural responsiveness shapes survivor outcomes, especially for Black and brown survivors and other marginalized communities.
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Today, my work lives at the intersection of systems change, cultural responsiveness, and survivor-centered practice because survival should not end where the system fails.
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I moved from victim, to survivor, to thriver, to leader and I carry that journey into every space I enter.
What I Believe......
I believe you cannot do gender-based violence work without a foundation rooted in cultural responsiveness and anti-oppression. This work cannot be effective when it ignores the cultural realities of the people it claims to serve. You cannot support survivors of color without actively understanding how culture, identity, and systems of power shape their experiences and outcomes.
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I also believe the anti-violence movement was built by survivors and it must remain survivor-led. Over time, the field has shifted toward professionalization and credentialing, which has value, but not at the expense of lived experience. Survivors should remain at the center of this work because we are closest to the harm and its impact.
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I believe justice is not one-size-fits-all. It must be defined by survivors themselves. For many Black and brown survivors, justice does not always involve systems of law enforcement, and assuming otherwise limits healing, safety, and truth.
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I also believe cultural responsiveness is not optional. It is essential. It is not a “nice to have” or an added layer of training. It is the foundation of effective, ethical practice in gender-based violence response, recovery, and prevention spaces.
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Finally, I believe the anti-violence field is in a necessary reset. The systems, approaches, and institutions that refuse to evolve will be left behind. The future of this work requires a willingness to pivot, unlearn, and rebuild.
And I am here to help organizations do exactly that.