Barriers to Treatment and Services for Survivors in the Asian American Community

As the Asian community continues to grow, service providers and administrators at domestic violence and sexual assault agencies are facing increasingly new and difficult challenges when it comes to outreach services and the delivery of advocacy for Asian families (Yoshioka & Chang, 2016).

This presentation incorporates research conducted by Asia Nhatavong that includes conducting interviews and focus groups with several CT agencies that provide services to victims of domestic violence or sexual assault in the Asian community and other literature reviews.

Reading & Resource List for and about the Asian/ Asian American Pacific Islander Community

Direct Services

• Connecticut Alliance to End Sexual Violence
• CT Coalition to End Domestic Violence
• CT Institute for Refugees and Immigrants 
• Asian Family Services, Community Renewal Team
• Sneha, Inc.
• Khmer Health Advocates
• Vietnamese Mutual Assistance Association
• Lao Association of CT

Policy-Related Resources

• Commission on Women, Children, and Seniors

Literature

• The White Devil’s Daughters:The Women Who Fought Slavery in San Fransicso’s Chinatown, Julia Flynn Siler
• The Body Keeps the Score, Bessel Van Der Kolk, MD
• “Was I Assaulted? My Guide to Healing as a Survivor”, May Saendpraseuth Alirad, MSW
• On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong 
• If They Come For Us  by Fatimah Asghar 
• Know My Name by Chanel Miller 
• When the Emperor Was Divine by Julie Otsuka
• Stubborn Twig by Lauren Kessler
• No-No Boy by John Okada

Key Leaders in Anti-SV/DV Work 

• Amita Swadhin, founder of Mirror Memoirs
• Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha, queer disabled femme writer, organizer, performance artist and educator of Burgher/Tamil Sri Lankan and Irish/Roma ascent.
• Mimi Kim, founder of Creative Interventions and co-founder of INCITE!
• Jahajee Sisters ig: @jahajee_sisters
• API Chaya ig:@apichayasea
• Equality Labs ig:@equalitylabs
• Sakhi for South Asian Women ig: @Sakhinyc
• Red Canary Song ig:@redcanarysong
• ABC: Who is Making Asian American History in 2021?

Policy Leaders in CT 

• CT Attorney General William Tong 
• Mui Mui Hin-McCormick, VIce Chair of the Asian Pacific Islander American Coalition of CT (APAC)
• Miriam Yeung, Chair of the Asian Pacific Islander Coalition of CT (APAC)
• Kevin Chiang, Treasurer of the Asian Pacific Islander Coalition of CT (APAC)
• K. Umesh Vig, Board Member of the Asian Pacific Islander Coalition of CT (APAC)
• ARNULFO “Arnie” ROSARIO Sr., Board Member of the Asian Pacific Islander Coalition of CT (APAC)