In DHD 420 (Mental Health, Asian Americans, and Community Engagement), we were joined by community partner Radika Sharma who shared about her experiences with Apna Ghar, a community-based organization that provides critical, comprehensive, and culturally competent services to survivors of gender violence. Apna Ghar aims to empower survivors, engage communities, and elevate the issue of gender violence to realize gender justice. For over 30 years, Apna Ghar has reached over 100,000 survivors and community members across the region and provides services including transitional housing, case management, legal advocacy, and community education.
Gender violence includes rape, sexual assault, relationship violence in heterosexual and same sex partnerships, sexual harassment, stalking, homophobic hate crimes, and sex trafficking. The term gender violence reflects the idea that such harm is often is rooted in structural gender inequalities, and includes abuse against men, women, children, adolescents, and LGBTQIA+ individuals. Domestic violence consists of a purposeful set of behaviors and norms that are used to control another person. Far from impulsive or circumstantial, these behaviors are systematic and carefully chosen by the perpetrator to achieve power and control. Domestic violence spans every ethnic, socioeconomic, religious, and gender identity.
Barriers to leaving an abusive partner or family member include the following:
economic dependence
pressures from family and community
fear of the unknown
love
fear of what they will do to you if you leave
Consider the following additional barriers faced by immigrant and refugee populations:
language barriers and lack of interpretive services
fear of deportation
lack of awareness of available resources
desire to maintain identity
fear of separation and isolation, heightened by experiences of racial discrimination
A prevalence study on partner abuse in six Asian American ethnic groups (Leung & Cheung, 2009) revealed an average prevalence of 16.4% (22.4% among Vietnamese, 21.8% among Filipinos, 19.5% among Indians, 19.5% among Koreans, 9.7% among Japanese, and 9.7% among Chinese).
Health and social services agencies can address domestic violence by creating safe spaces for individuals to gather and possibly discuss topics such as abuse (e.g., sewing circles, art classes, ESL).
Consider how you might best support an individual facing domestic violence. Remember that your role is to listen, believe, support, and inform. Your role is not to save or immediately try to intervene.
Here are some additional ways to respond to a disclosure of abuse:
I believe you.
It happens very often, and it is not all right.
You have the right to be free from abuse.
I am concerned for your safety.
You have rights to get free and confidential services
There are organizations that can provide you with free counseling, support, and advice. They can listen to you, tell you about what your choices are, and support you in doing what you want to do and talk to you about being as safe as possible.
These agencies help hundreds of women, men, and families who are refugees and immigrants.
Acknowledgment
Thank you to Radika Sharma and Rooshey Hasnain for providing the course content reflected in this post!
Resources
Illinois Domestic Violence Hotline, 877-863-6338. Available 24/7 with language interpretation services.
KAN-WIN. Domestic violence and sexual assault prevention and intervention in Asian American communities.
References
Cheng, X. (2018). Aperitif [Painting].
Leung, P. & Cheung, M. (2009). A prevalence study on partner abuse in six Asian American ethnic groups in the USA. International Social Work.
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