May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month

May is Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. Asian Pacific American Heritage Month honors and celebrates the diverse and rich cultures, identities, histories, and experiences of people who are Asian American and Pacific Islander American. Additionally, this month stands as a time to pay homage to the generations of Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans who have enriched America’s history and its future. KCSDV takes this opportunity to recognize leaders in the movement to end sexual and domestic violence.

Below are just a few of the Asian American and Pacific Islander American leaders from the movement to end sexual and domestic violence:

1. 1. Amanda Nguyen: Nguyen is the CEO and founder of Rise, a non-governmental civil rights organization. She was a 2019 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee for her work on the Sexual Assault Survivors Bill of Rights. In 2016, the Sexual Assault Survivors Bill of Rights was signed into law. For more information about Amanda Nguyen and the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Bill of Rights, visit Rise’s website at https://www.risenow.us/.
   2. Sujata Warrier: In 2008, Dr. Warrier authored “‘It’s In Their Culture’: Fairness and Cultural Consideration in Domestic Violence.” Currently, Dr. Warrier is the Training and Technical Assistance Director at the Battered Women’s Justice Project, where she provides training on policy issues concerning immigrant women, culture, and civil justice. For more information about Dr. Sujata Warrier and her work, visit https://www.dawnww.org/staff-member/dr-sujata-warrier/.
   3. Mazie Hirono: Hirono is a U.S. Hawaii Senator. She was born in Japan and is the first Asian American woman elected to the U.S. Senate. Senator Hirono, elected to the Senate in 2013, has worked for survivor rights and protections during her tenure. Visit her Senate website at https://www.hirono.senate.gov/ for more information.

While KCSDV honors Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans during this awareness month, we also recognize the impact sexual and domestic violence have on these communities. 21 – 55% of Asian women in the U.S. report experiencing intimate physical and/or sexual violence during their lifetime. Learn more and find ethnic-specific fact sheets related to domestic violence, sexual violence, and human trafficking on the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence’s (API-GBV) website at https://www.api-gbv.org/resources/dvfactsheet-nativehawaiian/.

Newsletter (PDF)

This project was supported by Grant No. 2019-MU-AX-0021 awarded by the Office on Violence Against Women, U.S. Department of Justice. The opinions, findings, conclusions, and recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women.