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Sexual Assault Awareness Month: Resources and Educational Material Regarding Sexual Violence in the South Asian American Community

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TRIGGER WARNING: SEXUAL ASSAULT AND VIOLENCE, CHILD MOLESTATIONS.

BY CYNTHIA CHOCKALINGAM, CIVIL RIGHTS UNIT INTERN AT SAN

While we at SAN want behavior, stigma, and climate to change around sexual assault in our communities, we understand that a cultural shift does not happen overnight. That is why in this blog, we will also be providing educational and helpful resources as to how to respond to sexual violence and steps we can take as a community to overcome the restraints created by sexual violence. When the community does not provide an environment to discuss sexual assault, we hope we provide you some better context and information. 

The prevalence of sexual violence in South Asian American communities can be partially overcome by starting conversations surrounding safety at a young age. We often talk in metaphors about sexual violence in our community. However, that leads us devoid of language to actually approach the issue. Parents will tell us to not go somewhere late; if asked why, maybe I would get a: “Boys will be there; that is bad.” Nothing more. Sobia S. writes about how restrictive the conversation and terminology is. She heard phrases like “the devil is the third when two are alone.” However, languages like Punjabi, Hindi, and Urdu do not have common terms of usage for anatomy because they are considered vulgar and crude profanity. Consequently, survivors cannot discuss the assault they faced and how they were violated. Sobia tells her story where as a child, she was molested by her uncle. However, she did not know how to start the conversation with her parents. Eventually, she told her mother she had been touched “down there.” Language is important, and the language we use right now is very restrictive. Opening conversation with children allows our community to be more receptive to these topics as we grow older. 

As that will take a while to develop, there are South Asian organizations that already work with the objectivity of helping South Asian American survivors, with many seeking to provide immediate assistance. In our last Sexual Assault Awareness Month Blog, we mentioned that many orgs are now working to help survivors of sexual assault within the South Asian community; the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence has published a list with links to different organizations that provide resources to survivors and do work in this area. Manavi has compiled a list of South Asian Domestic Violence Agencies nationwide, where even our own SAN is listed. Sakhi works with domestic violence survivors; part of their program includes a helpline. Available Monday through Friday, 10AM-10PM, you can call 1(212)868-6741 or text 1(305)204-1809. They even offer an email helpline of advocate@sakhi.org. They offer specialized help to youth between the ages of 6 and 24. As it is difficult for many young people to talk about this openly with their families, making this resource clearly available to young ones in your family could be a contact they need—have something occur. 

Saheli, an organization based in Massachusetts to support South Asian women and families, has set an example for other organizations to come. They provide culturally sensitive services to survivors. They have domestic violence advocates that speak several South Asian languages, such as Bengali, Gugurati, Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Punjabi, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, Nepali, and Arabic. They provide legal support through translation, court and police station accompaniment, and free family law legal clinics. They help survivors find a path to a better future through economic empowerment work to become educated and find a job. 

SAN’s Voices Against Violence program is quite expansive too, offering: safety planning for survivors and their children; case management and advocacy including shelter placement, court accompaniment, access to public benefits and financial literacy; counseling and emotional support for survivors and their children; access to legal assistance in the areas of family and immigration law; parenting classes; groups for young women being pressured into marriage; interpretation; community workshops to raise awareness about domestic violence and child abuse and the resources available; and prevention workshops and activities in collaboration with religious and community leaders. Ultimately, SAN wants to be here to support you where we can too. 

We know sometimes we tumble with the question: “Was I sexually assaulted?” or “Was _____ sexually assaulted?” This can be an especially difficult question in the online environment. Sexual harassment and abuse online is sending unwelcome sexual communication images/livestreams or requests. Sharing these images without consent also falls into this category. In any case, the National Sexual Assault Hotline is always available at 1(800)656-4673. If you are present in immediate danger, call 911. 

The steps to addressing sexual violence in the South Asian American community are two fold: being responsive immediately and not creating an environment that allows for sexual violence in the long run. Language has power and giving members of our community the voice they need will let us take the first step in even acknowledging the issues we have in our community. Only after this can we dismantle structures that uphold this behavior. Nonetheless, it is important to never forget that your life is not a movement; it is not your burden if you are a survivor to do anything with your story that you do not wish to. You are not obligated to publicize your story to reduce stigma in our community. Your first priority is you.

Sexual Assault Awareness Month: The Prevalence of Sexual Violence in the South Asian Community

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 TRIGGER WARNING: RAPE AND SEXUAL ASSAULT

BY CYNTHIA CHOCKALINGAM, CIVIL RIGHTS UNIT INTERN AT SAN

The South Asian culture is one that has taught us to be silent in our suffering; it has taught us that there is nothing more important than being selfless. This selflessness leads us to being caught in a culture where gender and sexuality issues go almost completely unaddressed. There’s a taboo in even approaching such issues as they risk the family’s “reputation,” so girls are taught to be selfless in valuing their families over themselves. This taboo results in further suffering to victims and the relationships they have with their families and those around them. In many South Asian communities, victims are silenced and left without help. 

Even more so, members of the LGBTQ+ South Asian community face even more sexual attacks, yet they receive even less attention. A study conducted in the New York State region—-led by professors and individuals affiliated with New York University—consisting of 385 18 to 34 year-olds that are South Asian Americans quantified some disparities between these different communities. 24.1% of the surveyed individuals identified as part of the LGBTQ+ community. Members of the queer community were more likely to be raped multiple times, quantifying that 17.2% of the South Asian American queer community experienced rape multiple times—compared to 9.6% of their heterosexual counterparts. Consequentially, sexual minorities had higher odds of depression.

Nonetheless, I must acknowledge the progress the South Asian American community has made in acknowledging sexual assault within American society. Body Evidence: Intimate Violence Against South Asian Women in America is a book edited by Shamita Das Dasgupta that examines violence women face in South Asian American communities. Since the 1990s, around 25 South Asian community-based organizations have been established that are rooted in anti-domestic violence work. However, Sagarika Gami at Pomona College counters that these organizations primarily only solve individual problems while sexual violence in the South Asian American community is systemic; therefore, there must be a collective, systemic solution. Shamita Das Dasgupta argues that lots of the stigma surrounding sexual violence in South Asian American communities is heavily tied to the Model Minority Myth; I would agree with this. 

The model minority myth is a construct and a set of stereotypes framing Asians, including South Asians, as the “ideal” minority that works hard and does not challenge the status quo. The University of Texas at Austin explains that most Asian-Americans are placed into this category called “model minorities” essentially meaning they are perfect, successful, and what every minority should aim to be. The cultural expectations include being naturally “smart,” wealthy, hard-working, submissive and obedient, uncomplaining, and self-reliant. They live the “American Dream.” Vivian Biwei Huang at UCLA

✎ EditSign explains Asian American students often hide their personal problems and struggles compared to other demographics because they do not want to stray from this “good” stereotype where Asians and Asian-Americans are “perfect.” Ultimately, the myth is destructive for all parties. Many Asians and Asian Americans in the United States uphold these stereotypes and ideals out of safety and self-preservation. South Asians in this community live by keeping our heads down and staying out of the way, and we can survive. Consequently, victims of sexual violence are told to keep quiet to keep from causing disruption. While it is understandable that parents want nothing more than for their children to be able to succeed, the trauma left behind by sexual violence—especially untreated and unacknowledged trauma—prohibits many from growing and reaching their full potential. 

The number of victims in our South Asian American community is significant, and they cannot keep being ignored. The Asian Pacific Institute on Gender Based Violence helps quantify how large this problem is: “Of API women, 23% experienced some form of contact sexual violence, 10% experienced completed or attempted rape, and 21% had non-contact unwanted sexual experiences during their lifetime.” Further, “64% of Indian and Pakistani women had experienced sexual violence by an intimate in a study of 143 domestic violence survivors.” They also quantify, “50% of Indian and Pakistani abused women reported being stalked by an intimate partner.” These actions are surrounded by a culture that gives ground to violence. In fact, the institute states, “79% of South Asians…reported being hit regularly as children.” When violence is treated as normal from a young age, a South Asian woman who faces violence as an adult is less inclined to report it and prevent it from happening again. 

Concepts of “honor” and “shame” keep members of the South Asian American community from discussing situations of sexual violence—these patriarchal norms and values are prevalent in South Asian communities around the world. Consequently, as a community, we have overlooked this issue for quite some time. Despite these situations being prevalent for generations, we have been unable to address them due to the stigma surrounding these conversations; we then pay the price. Members of our own community continue to become victims with no light or solution in sight. 

California Today: And before you go, some good news!

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NY Times

The South Asian Network, an advocacy group based in Southern California’s Little India in Artesia, will soon receive $200,000 to expand its programs around mental health, citizenship assistance and small business support.

Manjusha Kulkarni speaking last year against the hate and recent violence against Asian Americans at a rally in Los Angeles. Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Bank of America today announced the five winners of its Racial Equity Award, part of its philanthropic efforts. One of the honorees is Manjusha P. Kulkarni, who in 2020 co-founded Stop AAPI Hate, an organization that tracks anti-Asian harassment nationwide.

The award allows Kulkarni, who lives in Los Angeles, to direct $200,000 to a nonprofit of her choice — and she decided on the South Asian Network.

Part of the funds will go toward creating a small business mentorship program to help combat negative effects on local South Asian small businesses from the pandemic and anti-Asian hate. The program will get started in a few months with at least 50 mentors.

The Parallels in our Freedom

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BY CYNTHIA CHOCKALINGAM, CIVIL RIGHTS UNIT INTERN AT SAN

When I was—probably—around 10 years old, I learned at Chinmaya Mission—a Hindu Sunday School system—that when I walk around with scissors, the blade should be facing myself so no one else is at risk. We learned of self-sacrifice and valuing others; an innocent person should not suffer for the mistakes of others. But what about when they are not just an innocent person? Even before India’s fight for independence from the British, Black Americans were already fighting for freedom from the oppression they still face. Both conversations alike stress the importance of nonviolence from Mahatma Gandhi to Martin Luther King Jr. However, these conversations fail to include the importance of violence and nonviolence working side-by-side. At Black Lives Matter’s peak during the summer of 2020, many South Asians jumped to the side of white Americans in chastising the entire movement for the violence of some. Just as during the initial civil rights movement and the more recent Black Lives Matter movement—both of which are ongoing, South Asia’s fight for independence from Britain involved both civil disobedience and violence. 

India’s vision for independence began in 1857 with the rebellion uprising, which was later referred to as the First War of Independence. India itself learned that staying peaceful and moderate with no force did not lead to change. Gopal Krishna Gokhale, Congress President as of 1905 and one of Gandhi’s mentors, initially opposed what he called “extremists” like Bal Gangadhar Tilak, an early member of Congress who gained support in the 1890s. Tilak then spent the following decades cooling down towards Gokhale’s more “moderate” views. However, they soon learned this led India nowhere. Even when India greatly supported Britain during World War I, India was not granted any further autonomy. 

Understanding the fight for independence through key figures Bhagat Singh and Subhas Chandra Bose helps grasp the role violence played in India’s fight for independence. Born in 1907 to a Sikh family in modern Pakistan, Bhagat Singh was born into the fight for independence; when he was born, his father was in jail for political agitation. His father was a supporter of Gandhi, so Singh fell into this non-violent crusade, but in college, he came to believe armed conflict was the only way to political freedom. 

In April of 1929, he and his colleague—Batukeshwar Dutt—bombed the Legislative Assembly in Delhi to scare, not kill, as a result of the Public Safety Bill. After being arrested, he used the courtroom as a way to spread his political beliefs—rather than defend himself—so he was sentenced to life in prison. While investigating, Singh was connected to an earlier killing of Officer Saunders, so Singh was sentenced to death and hung. While he died at age 23, his life and actions became inspiration for many to come. 

Like Singh, Subhas Chandra Bose was a controversial figure, yet, also like Singh, he was extremely significant. While he was initially a supporter of Gandhi, he became more critical of his “less confrontational approach toward independence.” Leaving India in 1941, he travelled seeking Indian support for a forceful fight against the British. He appealed to Japan, receiving military support to take back to India. While he and his new crew were forced to retreat and he then died—which is rumored to be caused by a plane crash over Taiwan but is unconfirmed—he opened much of India and the government’s eyes to the hits they could make to the British forces. He was integral to forming the liberation army identity of the Indian National Army, and he became an inspiration for the independence movement. 

The Civil Rights Movement in America was fundamentally about freedom. Malcom X articulated that the center of this movement was identity, integrity, and independence. His philosophy was for Black Americans to protect themselves from white aggressors “by any means necessary.” Even Martin Luther King, Jr stated that Malcolm X “had the great ability to put his finger on the existence and root of the problem.” Nonetheless, the importance of non-violence cannot be undermined. They have been critical in both independence movements, both that of India and Black Americans. However, South Asians should not misrepresent our own history: it was not that purely of non-violence and success did not come from non-violence alone. Instead, we should understand this violence and force comes from a place of suffering; violent and non-violent actions together is what made India’s freedom possible. As Black History Month comes to an end, that does not mean it is time for everyone to go back to turning a blind eye to Black people’s suffering. Conversations of discrimination and inequality should continue afterwards for the rest of the year, even—and especially—in South Asian spaces. Black Americans should not be expected to keep sitting back waiting for this nation to treat them as equals. 

Additional reading

https://www.independent.co.uk/world/the-forgotten-violence-that-helped-india-break-free-from-colonial-rule-a7409066.html

Community Organization Spotlight: South Asian Network (SAN)

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APASA Spotlight

PART III OF APASA’S COMMUNITY ROAD MAP, HEADED BY OUR EXTERNAL COMMUNITY CHAIR, MINAH YANG

Hello! Welcome back to APASA’s Community Roadmap, an initiative where we spotlight an organization that serves the APIDA community and hear more about their mission and how we can get involved. This month, we are taking a stop at the South Asian Network, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing culturally and linguistically specific services and advocating for the South Asian community in Southern California. 

Thank you so much to Hina Ahmad, the Program Manager at SAN for taking the time to speak with me about SAN’s history and the amazing services they provide for their community. 

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You can watch the interview above or read the transcript below:

How and why was the South Asian Network first founded? 

We were founded in 1990, and we really came about because there was a need for advocacy and orientation for the South Asian community. We saw that there was no organization serving the South Asian community that could speak South Asian languages: Hindi, or Urdu, Punjabi. And there was a need, there were domestic violence cases, but no one was there to address it. And 1990 is when there was a huge migration of South Asians to the nation to California specifically. And so we wanted to create some routes for South Asians to go to, to connect with other community members and to get the services that they need.

What have been the main challenges the South Asian Network has faced while trying to meet the needs of the South Asian community here in Southern California? 

That’s a difficult question. Because we do so much, we do domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, case management. Since the pandemic started, we’ve definitely seen an increase in those cases, folks are stuck in their homes, they no longer have school or work to kind of go to as a place of refuge. We realized that we don’t have enough case managers that were trusted, and community members want to come to us and we want to be able to serve them in more South Asian languages than our staff has. We also do a lot of COVID education and outreach. So we’ve been doing clinics in gurdwaras, masjids, places like that. But just like every other community, in the beginning, there was a lot of misinformation about the vaccine and the side effects. So we were really pushing that work, letting folks know that it’s safe, it’s a lot better to get it than to not get COVID and dealing with that and being hospitalized. We were doing a lot of that footwork, doing cold outreach on the streets, going to businesses, and letting folks know that it’s important to get vaccinated and to stay safe and vigilant. And then I’d say one of the difficult things in the beginning of the pandemic as well was technology. A lot of our clients are older adults not used to what we’re doing now on Zoom, so providing them assistance through Zoom and over the phone is just not what what they were used to, because before they’d be able to come in and we’d be able to read mail for them, assess them face to face in their language, maybe give them some chai and some tea, just make them feel comfortable. Whereas now I kind of feel like it’s a colder conversation. But we opened the office pretty early, so community members are now able to come in and we can assist them in person.

South Asian Network’s vaccination & legal clinic at Buena Park’s Gurdwara Singh Sabha.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected SAN’s programming?

It’s been difficult. We went through a transition in the pandemic and the Executive Director left, we got a new one, you know, a lot of staff left due to their home situations and needing to take care of their children. So this was really a rebirth for us at SAN, we’ve grown our team from four to twelve. We were doing everything. We had a server in the office that we could only utilize in the office, so when the pandemic started, we switched to Google Drive. Now we’re back in the office and just updating our phone systems or computers, everything like that. Like I mentioned before, folks want to do things in person, or in their language, and we just didn’t have that at the start of the pandemic. But luckily, we’re open now in a safe way.

You mentioned that your team grew from four to 12. Do you think more people were trying to find ways to get involved during the pandemic and so they gravitated towards this organization? Or was it more just like you were actively looking for people to recruit? 

Yeah, I think a little bit of both, right. I mean, just from the news, we hear folks are getting out of certain industries or thinking more about what they really want to do. The new Executive Director and I both came in during the pandemic as well. We wanted to rethink what the South Asian Network was, and how we really want to work for the community. We wrote job descriptions to fit current events, and what we really need and what the community really needs. Right when we put out those applications, they just came pouring in, so I think folks just were interested in helping their community and just wanting a job with a cause and passion. 

What is one program the South Asian Network offers that you wish more people knew about?

Oh, that’s a good one. Obviously, all of our services are free, but I think we could always do more outreach about the public benefits work that we do. We provide assistance with filling out the CalFresh application, which is food assistance, CalWorks, which helps you get a job, general relief, or if you don’t have a specific immigration status, you can still apply for public benefits, especially if you’re in LA County. I think folks may not know or be scared to apply to certain government relief programs, but they’re available to us. In 2016 in that administration public charge was in effect, so folks who had green cards were hesitant to get public benefits. In 2020, that rule was reversed so folks can now get public benefits and it won’t affect their citizenship at all. But still, we have some community members who are reluctant but still need that assistance,so I think letting folks know that we provide assistance with filling out public benefits applications MediCal, CalFresh, CalWORKs. 

How is the South Asian Network looking to grow or expand in the future? 

I think there’s a lot of different routes we should be taking. I think one is just on the communications front. Like I mentioned, we’ve been here since 1990, so that’s 30 years of experience, trust, knowledge. But I think our digital footprint isn’t where it should be. I feel that we should be really utilizing social media more than we are. We hired some comms staff, so I’m very excited to get that work going. Also our civil rights work, what we were founded on is the civil rights work and workers’ rights and things like that. I think over the years, we’ve kind of been focusing on domestic violence work, which is great, but I think now that our staff number is getting bigger, we can start doing that civil rights work again. 2022 is a really important year, because it’s an election year, so we really want to start doing our GOTV work and getting folks registered to vote, but also at this time, we want to start doing some anti-Asian hate work. Election season is when people get nasty and we want to make sure that folks are equipped, that they have bystander intervention training, self defense, and things like that, we want to bring that into the community. So I think we’re going to be focusing a lot more on building up our Civil Rights unit.

What are some ways that people interested in the South Asian Network’s mission can get involved? 

I think we still have a couple of job openings on our website, but we’re always looking for interns or volunteers to help us out in the office. We’re always looking for volunteers and interns for every unit: the Civil Rights unit, the mental health unit, our domestic violence unit, citizenship, etc. What we do is we have an intro meeting where we talk about what your interests are, and then we place you with the specific staff member who does that work. We want it to be a mutually beneficial relationship. So folks who are more interested in immigration, for example, they could volunteer and do citizenship applications. We would base it off your interest. You could go on our website, sign up to be a volunteer, and then we’ll reach out to you from there

South Asian Network Hosts Covid Vaccination & Legal Clinic at Buena Park Gurdwara

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South Asian Network

After successfully assisting almost 400 people with getting vaccinated a fortnight ago, SAN returned to Buena Park’s Gurdwara Singh Sabha on Sunday, January 30th, in its continued effort to help people get immunized against COVID-19. 

The event was a symbiotic effort between the Buena Park Gurdwara, South Asian Network and Orange County Health Care Agency and welcomed walk-in attendees along with those that had pre-registered appointments. Three booths set up with pharmacists administrating doses for adults and children ensured a minimal wait time and all of the shots (1st/2nd/booster) were made accessible.

Surjeet Singh’s family of three all received their 1st COVID-19 shot and were very happy with their experience. “Everything has been so smooth, and very nicely arranged. The staff has been very co-operative and helped us to feel at ease.

SAN’s Executive Director Shakeel Syed was overjoyed to witness that the event not only attracted Sikhs & members of the South Asian community, but even the residents of the Buena Park neighborhood. “You notice around here a sense of serving the community irrespective of one’s faith, ethnicity,

language and age. That spirit is what South Asian Network tries to foster – that we need to transcend our own traditions for the common and greater good of the society”, he said.

Programs Manager Hina Ahmad expressed that education and outreach within the community on COVID-19 has been a rocky road but the event was “very much like them welcoming us and saying yes, we believe in the science, we believe that we need to get vaccinated.”

The event also welcomed members of the community with green cards interested in applying for American citizenship. Programs Assistant Shakuntala Chugani eagerly helped those interested to make an appointment for further case-specific assistance. For the benefit of citizenship applicants with limited proficiency of English language, Community Outreach Coordinator Balvinder Kaur translated the citizenship application and interview flashcards in Punjabi. 

“It takes a village to serve the community”, Shakeel said, and the success of the event was a true reflection of that.