20 South Asian Gender-based Violence Groups Noted ‘Alarming’ Rise in Helpline Requests At the Height of Pandemic 

In 2021, twenty South Asian gender-based violence (GBV) organizations received an alarming number of over 43,000 helpline requests, and overall client volume nearly doubled between 2020 and 2021, a new report by South Asian SOAR (SOAR) has revealed. 

Titled “State of the Field,” a national survey of SOAR’s member organizations, the report shares “key findings from that survey and marks a significant stride towards gathering and disseminating essential data about GBV within South Asian communities.” SOAR is a collective of survivors, organizations, and allies building a national movement for joy, healing, and justice in the South Asian diaspora.

The National Domestic Violence Hotline defines domestic violence as “a pattern of behaviors used by one partner to maintain power and control over another partner in an intimate relationship.” It is not just physical abuse; it is mental, emotional, financial, and/or sexual, and could occur between people who live together, are dating, are married, or are related in some way.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that one out of every four women and one out of every seven men go through physical violence at the hands of their partner. Women between the ages of 18 and 34 generally experience the highest rates of intimate partner violence, according to information from the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

According to the report, the highest number of South Asian GBV organizations are in New York, Texas, and California. However, there are “noticeable gaps in resources in the South and Midwest, areas with some of the fastest growing South Asian populations.” The “budget sizes” of these organizations,  “ranging from $8,500 to $4 million” comes mostly from government grants, the report notes, “underscoring the urgent need for investment from private donors and foundations.”

The report highlights “the likely underrepresentation of LGBTQIA+ and male survivors and the need for more services and outreach for these groups.” Most of the clientele of these groups are women (93 %), and 83% are heterosexual. Meanwhile, 58% of South Asian survivors are not U.S. citizens, and 49% are unemployed or under-employed, “pointing to both the high vulnerability to immigration-related and economic abuse, as well as the need for legal and economic empowerment services,” the report says.

Some of the solutions the report provides include increasing funding and having policy centered around the community. “Funders — whether the government, foundations, community members, or corporations — must rethink funding practices to center trust, equity, and sustainability,” the report says. Funding should address “shifting from only addressing violence in the short-term and at the interpersonal or familial level to addressing it as an issue that requires long-term, upstream, and structural support.”

Additionally, “South Asian survivors and organizations should be at the policymaking table so that their voices are centered in the creation of legislation and decision-making processes.” Policies should also “represent and respond to the needs of the South Asian populations within the U.S., alongside other immigrant and marginalized communities and communities of color.”

 “South Asian survivors and organizations should be at the policymaking table so that their voices are centered in the creation of legislation and decision-making processes.” 

This report comes on the heels of “Together We Rise,” described as “nationwide listening sessions in 2021 with organizations on the frontlines of GBV work in South Asian American communities.” It presented a qualitative landscape assessment of the challenges and needs of South Asian communities experiencing gender-based violence.

In Interviews done during the pandemic, several South Asian gender advocates told American Kahani that although the nature of the abuse is not different within South Asian communities in the U.S., there are a number of elements like immigration, financial dependence, abuse by in-laws, and reproductive coercion, which play a significant role. Another important issue is the ability to access help. Many South Asian women in the U.S. have no support system. They are far from their families. Some of them, particularly new immigrants, are unfamiliar with American culture, accessing legal systems, or calling 911 to seek help. Language access is a huge barrier as well and is closely linked to safety. Advocates share several instances where police have had to talk to the perpetrator instead of the victim, because of the language barrier. In such cases, the police get a completely different version of the reality, as it’s through the abuser’s mouth. These situations give men increased power and control that may escalate to abuse. 

For women trapped in abusive marriages, continuing to stay in the U.S. can be challenging, because maintaining legal status could mean submitting to the abusive spouse. There’s also the taboo against divorce in most South Asian societies which forces women to stay with their abusers.  Some have to consider child custody as well, which is intermingled with immigration, especially when the children are born in the U.S. Advocates say that when faced with a choice between living at home with one’s abuser and homelessness, an average South Asian woman will choose to continue living with her husband. 

However, there’s no one plan that fits all victims. According to Bindu Oommen-Fernandes, former executive director of Narika, based in California’s Bay Area, “each client’s needs are vastly different from another.” That could be because not all South Asian victims are similar. What sets most of them apart is their level of education. Nearly 95 percent of clients with ASHA for Women have a bachelor’s degree, Priya Kulkarni, president of the Maryland-based ASHA for Women told American Kahani. In contrast, according to the New York-based Sakhi for South Asian Women, 95 percent of its clients are recent immigrants, 10 percent are undocumented, 80 percent are mothers and 75 percent reside below the federal poverty level.

Advocates also told American Kahani that the pandemic gave rise to new patterns of domestic violence. “There have been blatant violations of court orders happening, which have a direct correlation to Covid-19,” Oommen-Fernandes said. Battered women might hesitate to go to the hospital, a lot of times due to the abuser giving misinformation to the victims, she noted.

Along with the typical domestic violence victims, there is a need to reach out to women who are victims of abuse that could seem atypical. These women might not be dependent on their spouse for a visa or finances, but are still abused,” she noted. 

In situations like this, South Asian anti-domestic organizations play a larger role, of connecting their clients seeking help to other resources and sister organizations in the area. ASHA for Women works with several clients who are struggling to make ends meet. They are helping their clients with filing for unemployment, getting groceries, or medicines. Kulkarni gave an example of a client, a single mother, who was working two jobs. Now they are helping her get back into the workforce.