For Immediate Release: Mar 16, 2022
Contact:
New York, NY –
As we mark one year since the horrific murders of 6 Asian American women in Atlanta, and at least two more recently in New York City, the public safety of Asian American and Pacific Islander women and girls is heavy on our hearts and minds. A groundbreaking report by the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) reflects the fresh question on our minds as Asian Americans when we walk out the door: “will we be safe today?” We are mindful that Black Americans negotiate that question every day in the pervasiveness of this country’s anti-Blackness, and we stand in solidarity with Indigenous and Latinx communities around stopping the femicides and disappearances of our sisters, including those targeted as gender non-conforming and gender fluid.
AAPI women and girls are constantly fetishized, exoticized, and objectified through racialized and sexualized violence. According to NAPAWF’s report, there has been a 339% increase in reports of violence against Asian Americans over the last year, with 62% of all national hate incidents reported by AAPI women. Nearly 3 out of 4 Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women have experienced racism and/or discrimination within the last year, with the highest rates reported by Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women.
The need in AAPI communities is vast. Over 10,370 hate incidents against Asian American and Pacific Islander people have been reported to Stop AAPI Hate. The community-based solutions which already exist require deeper investments from the government and philanthropic sector. Structural changes are also needed. AAPIP continues to call for the mobilization of resources to increase the safety of AAPI people, especially women, girls, and gender-nonconforming people of color, whose lives and bodies experience the compounding impacts of multiple forms of injustice.
The NAPAWF report “urges elected officials and the Biden administration to invest in culturally competent and language accessible services, resources to local communities and community-based organizations, in addition to focusing on data disaggregation to paint a more comprehensive and inclusive picture of the lived experiences of AAPI people.” AAPIP also applauds Governor Kathy Hochul for understanding this long-standing need for greater investment in our communities and distributing $10 million to Asian American organizations across New York State.
The recommendations for philanthropy offered by Native Americans in Philanthropy to address missing and murdered Indigenous women are instructive for serving many communities, as well. These recommendations call for greater philanthropic attention on data, organizing, capacity building, and relationship building.
These times are about all of us and each of us. Racialized misogyny has long been a pandemic for women, girls, and gender non-conforming people of color. And as the COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us, the safety we seek for each of us is what we must work toward for all of us.