Sexual Violence

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For every actress hushed by a six-figure settlement, thousands more women are silenced by the threat of losing a minimum-wage job their families need to survive. Until we seek out their voices, and do the difficult and politically complex work needed to protect them, the #MeToo movement will look more like #WeFew.

Nell Bernstein: The floodgates aren’t open until working-class women tell their stories (2017, via Buzzfeed News)

Sexual violence is any sexual act, attempt to obtain a sexual act, or other act directed against a person’s sexuality using coercion, by any person regardless of their relationship to the victim, in any setting. It includes rape, defined as the physically forced or otherwise coerced penetration of the vulva or anus with a penis, other body part or object.​
WHO: Sexual Violence

 

Excessive restrictions designed to control female sexuality are used to label women’s sexual expression as transgressions, to justify victim-blaming, and to mask the high prevalence and incidence of sexual violence. In some Asian communities, violations can include being forced to watch and imitate pornography, denying the right to choose or express a different sexual orientation, forced marriage, child marriage, marital rape, ‘corrective’ rape of women, body modification and humiliation, cyber-stalking, mass rape in conflict zones, and more.

I grew up in a home where we were taught valuable lessons about not wasting money, not wasting time, not wasting an education. I am left with a wasted childhood.

South Asian survivor of incestuous sexual abuse. The Children We Sacrifice, by Grace Poore (2000)

In private and public spheres, sexual violence is carried out with impunity, with appallingly low conviction rates for rapists. Women and girls are overwhelmingly targeted for sexual violence; but boys, men, and other individuals can are also victimized.

Quick Facts

 

Resources on Sexual Violence

#MeToo in Asia and API Communities

Celebrity Pakistani women add voices to #MeToo movement, CNN

China’s women break silence on harassment as #MeToo becomes #WoYeShi, The Guardian

Female journalists, male politicians and the epidemic of sexual harassment in Asean, Asian Correspondent

The floodgates aren’t open until working-class women tell their stories, Buzzfeed News

Hmong: #MeToo movement — An opportunity for Hmong women to advocate women’s rights, StarTribune 

How did #MeToo start in Japan? These voices are planting small, yet powerful seeds of change, Bustle

#MeToo’s global impact: Big in some places, scanty in others, SF Gate 

#MeToo in India: ‘Women’s rights need more than just a social media campaign,’ Deutsche Weller 

The #MeToo movement in Asia: Is Singapore feeling the Weinstein effect? Forbes

The #MeToo movement looks different for women of color. Here are 10 stories, HuffPost

Other Resources

Centers for Disease Control: The Lifetime Economic Burden of Rape among U.S. Adults (2017)

Center for Changing our Campus Culture: directory of national organizations dedicated to ending sexual assault on campus.

It’s On Us: a national movement to end sexual assault on college campuses.

National Organization of Asians and Pacific Islanders Ending Sexual Violence: technical assistance to culturally & linguistically specific organizations to serve API sexual assault survivors.

National Sexual Violence Resource Center (NSVRC): provides online modules, library, and other resources on preventing and responding to sexual violence.

Partners for Prevention: Why Do Some Men Use Violence Against Women and How Can We Prevent It? Quantitative Findings from the UN Multi-Country Study on Men and Violence in Asia and the Pacific (2013)

Standford rape survivor’s victim impact statement, and Vice President Biden’s response letter (2016) via Buzzfeed

Get Help

RAINN sexual violence hotline
800-656-HOPE (4673) | Online chat 

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission: for information and to file a charge about sexual harassment in the workplace.

API-GBV Resources

Exploring the Cultural Contexts of Consent in AANHPI Communities, 2023 – This report explores how consent and boundaries are understood and practiced in AANHPI contexts, highlights how gender expectations and the need to respect certain individuals make it hard to establish boundaries, and presents recommendations for advocates and educators.

Centering AANHPI Survivors: Recommendations for Campus and Title IX Administrators, 2022 – This summary report lifts up the experiences and needs of Asian, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander students and staff who face dating and domestic violence, sexual assault, or sexual harassment on campus. While focused on experiences of survivors on college campuses, the findings and recommendations may also have implications for AANHPI students in the context of K-12 schools. 

Sexual Violence in Asian and Pacific Islander Communities, 2018 – Research and data on sexual abuse in Asia and in the U.S, community-specific abuse, child sex abuse, sexual abuse among young adults, and help-seeking & services. 

Domestic and Sexual Violence in FIlipino Communities, 2018 – A compilation of statistics on domestic violence, sexual violence, stalking, and help-seeking in Filipino communities.

Sexual Violence Against Asian and Pacific Islander Women, 2011 – Types of sexual violence, vulnerable women and potentially dangerous settings. 

 

HEART Women & Girls

HEART Women & Girls promotes sexual health and sexual violence awareness in Muslim communities through health education, advocacy, research and training.

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