June Highlights - Honor All Communities, All Survivors

News & Updates from June 2019

June Highlights: Honor All Communities, All Survivors

Dear Friends,

Happy Pride Month and Immigrant Heritage Month! With World Refugee Day (June 20th) also just behind us, there is no better time to honor Asian and Pacific Islander LGBTQ, immigrant, and refugee communities: to hear their voices, to recognize the barriers they face, to celebrate their contributions, and to commit to holding space for them.

These communities enrich all of us, and the heritages they carry should be uplifted, not suppressed. Regardless of geographic origin or identity, we have always, and will continue to stand for all survivors of violence; and for healthy relationships built on love and respect, rather than power.

Our Language Access Program Welcomes Two Team Members!

Cannon Han is returning to API-GBV as a Senior Program Associate, providing technical assistance and training on the OVC Enhancing Access to Services: Training and Technical Assistance Project.

Kayla Chan is joining API-GBV as a Program Coordinator. She will be heading the OVW Improving Language Access in the Courts project, providing technical assistance and training around enhancing language access in the courts through culturally-responsive and trauma-informed approaches.

Visit our Interpretation Technical Assistance & Resource Center (ITARC) to learn more about our work in language access

Culture & History: Archiving our Past, Enlightening our Present, Celebrating our Futures!

API-GBV staff and friends attended the 2019 Culturally Specific Services Program in Memphis, a space for peer-learning and sharing practices to achieve sustainable programming for our communities. Among other artistic and cultural tools of expression, conference participants practiced using Story Circles as a vehicle for exploring their organizational histories and envisioning their futures.

Photograph of a young boy smiling and holding an American flag. Text: "Nobody should have to choose between their family or their home. Comment deadline: July 9"

Submit your comment opposing the harmful mixed-status family rule

The administration has published a proposed rule that would prohibit “mixed-status” families from receiving federal housing assistance, including households with immigrant survivors of gender-based violence. The proposed rule could lead to family separation, prevent survivors from leaving or compel them back into abusive relationships, and put traumatized survivors and their children at risk of homelessness. The good news? This is still a proposal and not yet in place. You have until July 9 to submit a comment opposing the mixed-status family rule and the harm it would have on immigrant survivors of violence.

Visit Keep-Families-Together and the Alliance for Immigrant Survivors Mixed-Status Family Rule Action Page to learn more about the proposal and how you can submit comments today.

Immigrant survivors fear reporting violence

The May 2019 Advocate & Legal Services Survey on Immigrant Survivors surveyed nearly 600 advocates and attorneys across the U.S., finding that fear of deportation, abuser retaliation, or separation from children prevents many immigrant survivors from seeking help.

See Findings Report

Closeup of a cardboard sign held up at a rally. Written on the sign: WELCOME REFUGEES

June 20 was World Refugee Day, a moment to recognize the 70.8 million refugees, asylum seekers, and forcibly displaced persons worldwide.

Download our brief for info on the barriers refugee survivors face, and recommendations for service providers.

Call for abstracts!

" West meets East": Caring for Asians through Innovative, evidence-based, and community-oriented health interventions : hosted by Asian Alliance for Health & San Francisco Asian American Research Center on Health

Abstracts due 8/19/19

Conference: 10/17/19, San Francisco

National Conference on Health & Domestic Violence, hosted by Futures Without Violence

COA deadline: 7/29/19

Conference: 4/28-30/2020, Chicago

News and Updates from the Field:

13th Annual Domestic Violence Counts Report Shows Clear Need for Consistent Funding (NNEDV): While nearly 75,000 victims of DV received services on a single day, more than 9,000 requests were unmet because programs lacked resources.
Exclusive: India Most Dangerous Country for Women with Sexual Violence Rife - Global Poll (Reuters): U.S. Makes the top 10
Families in a Changing World: Progress of the World's Women (UN Women): While women's rights have advanced over the decades, gender inequalities and other ufndamental humans rights violations within families persist
Gangnam: The Scandal Rocking the Playground of K-Pop (BBC News): Behind the glamour of Seoul's ritziest nightclubs, sexual abuse allegations mount, but in many cases fear still prevails (Content warning: description of sexual assaults)
In China, a Viral Video Sets off a Challenge to Rape Culture (New York Times): The images were meant to exonerate Richard Liu, the e-commerce mogul. They have also helped fuel a nascent #NoPerfectVictim movement
Men Force Feet into High Heels as Japan's #KuToo Movement Seeks to Build on Media Attention (Japan Times): Activists in Japan speak out against gender-based discrimination requiring women to wear high heels in the workplace
What Being Malala's Father Taught Me About Feminism (Time): "Patriarchy is sheer stupidity. Fathers have a great interest in dismantling it."

Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence

Oakland, CA | info@api-gbv.org | api-gbv.org