Violence

Minority Women's Health > Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians > Health Topics > Violence

If you're a victim of abuse or violence at the hands of someone you know or love, or you are recovering from an assault by a stranger, you are not alone. To get immediate help and support call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233) or the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673. You can also visit the National Sexual Assault Online Hotline.

Violence affects women from all backgrounds. It is a leading cause of injury for American women between the ages of 15 and 54, but violence can happen at any age. Violence can have terrible and costly results for everyone involved, including families, communities, and society. Violence can take many forms including domestic or intimate partner violence, sexual assault and abuse, dating violence, and elder abuse. Learn more about the different types of violence in our Violence Against Women section.

Asian American/Pacific Islander females tend to have lower rates of intimate partner violence than other groups. About 15 percent of Asian American/Pacific Islander women have been victims of intimate partner violence. Intimate partner violence includes rape, physical assault, or stalking.

If you have been hurt by someone, keep in mind, it is not your fault. You did not cause the abuse to occur, and you are not responsible for the violent behavior of someone else.

If you’re in an abusive relationship, be careful when using the Internet. Your computer use can be tracked so protect your privacy. By cleaning the cache and history and erasing the cookies on your computer, others are not able to go onto your computer and check up on what you have been doing. However, if you have any reason to suspect that someone may be tracking your computer usage, they may grow suspicious if all records of internet activity disappear. For more information and directions on protecting your privacy, visit www.rainn.org/about/user-safety-procedures.html

Publications

1.   Violence Against Women - The Violence Against Women web page provides abused women and their loved ones with resources and information they can use to get help. This web page contains links to publications about violence, domestic violence, sexual abuse and assault, dating violence, elder abuse, legislation, and violence resources in each state.

   http://www.womenshealth.gov/violence/

2.   Sexual Violence Fact Sheet - This fact sheet discusses the prevalence and incidence of sexual violence, the associated risk factors, and consequences. It also provides some strategies in trying to prevent sexual violence.

   http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/factsheets/svfacts.htm

3.   State Sexual Assault Coalitions - This publication contains a list of addresses, phone numbers, and faxes of coalitions across the country who help with domestic violence.

   http://www.usdoj.gov/ovw/saresources.htm

4.     Understanding Intimate Partner Violence - This fact sheet contains statistical information on the number of women who are victims of Intimate Partner Violence (IPV), characteristics of the most common victims and perpetrators of IPV, and the effects it can have on a person and society as a whole.

   http://www.cdc.gov/ncipc/dvp/ipv_factsheet.pdf

5. Are you Being Abused? (Copyright © ACOG) - This simple true-false quiz helps victims and those who care about them identify the signs of abuse. It encourages victims to seek assistance and gives helpful phone numbers to call.

   http://www.acog.org/from_home/departments/dept_notice.cfm?recno=17&bulletin=198

6. Domestic Violence: Protecting Yourself and Your Children (Copyright © AAFP) - This fact sheet provides information on how to protect yourself and your children from domestic violence, where to go to get help, and other facts you should know about domestic violence.

   http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/healthy/safety/kids-family/052.html

7. Emotional Abuse (Copyright © TWC) - This article provides an overview of emotional abuse and gives examples of signs that you or someone you know may be a victim of domestic violence through emotional abuse.

   http://www.thewomenscenter.org/content.asp?contentid=220

8.   Fact Sheet: Domestic Violence In Asian Communities (Copyright © APIAHF) - This publication explores the extent of the problem of domestic violence in the Asian American community, specifically Cambodian, Chinese, Filipino, Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese. It describes the types of abuse and the rates of women asking for help. Attitudes towards and statistics on domestic violence related homicides are also provided in this document.

   http://www.apiahf.org/apidvinstitute/PDF/Fact_Sheet.pdf

9. VictimLaw (Copyright © National Center for Victims of Crime) - VictimLaw has been designed as a comprehensive, user-friendly, on-line database of victims' rights statutes, tribal laws, constitutional amendments, court rules, administrative code provisions, and case summaries of related court decisions that meets the needs of a wide variety of users with different levels of substantive and technological expertise. Such ready access to information can advance the cause of crime victims' rights by facilitating the exercise, implementation, and enforcement of those rights.

   http://www.victimlaw.info

Organizations

1.   Office of Minority Health, OPHS, OS, HHS
2.   Office on Violence Against Women, OJP, DOJ
3. National Center for Victims of Crime
4. National Domestic Violence Hotline

= Indicates Federal Resources

Current as of December 2007