It takes change-makers like him and YOU to make our families and communities safer. Want to help? Contact us: Project Speak Out Manager, Tel: (212) 732-0054 ext 163, Email:jarifa@nyawc.org
Project Speak Out is a new initiative in which four Asian-American domestic-violence agencies in NYC are working on a unique project to reduce and PREVENT domestic violence in NY’s Asian-American communities.
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Engagement: Elmhurst Walgreens posts our flyer
It takes change-makers like him and YOU to make our families and communities safer. Want to help? Contact us: Project Speak Out Manager, Tel: (212) 732-0054 ext 163, Email:jarifa@nyawc.org
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
10 Steps YOU can take to end domestic violence
Adapted from http://www.connectnyc.org/
10 Things You Can Do To Combat Domestic Violence
1. Understand the Dynamics of Domestic Violence
The results of domestic violence can be deadly. 12 women in NYC were recently killed by way of domestic violence in about a month.
Domestic Violence (DV), also known as Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) or Interpersonal Violence (IV), is about maintaining power and control over another. Abused persons live in a controlling environment, feels fear and often “walks on eggshells”.
Abuse takes many forms. Examples of abuse include: physical abuse ranging from pinching and shoving to physical assault (strangulation, punching, kicking, use of items causing injury), verbal/emotional abuse (degrading remarks and threats of harm and deportation, intimidation, sexist comments), financial abuse, sexual exploitation and rape, and symbolic violence (throwing furniture, punching walls, etc).
2. Know the Facts
• An international statistic from the United Nations shows that 1 in 3 women will experience some form of violence in her lifetime.
• 1/4 of ALL women will experience DV in her lifetime.
• 1/3 of all women murdered, were killed by their partners with over 16,000 murders due to an intimate partner.
3. Be Aware of Your Own Attitude
Challenge how your own behaviors and words contribute towards violence and the violation of women and others. Check out your own attitude. Look within. Think of how your own thinking and behavioral patterns were shaped by those you observed growing up.
How do you refer to women in every day speech? Each culture bares responsibility for reducing violence against women and interpersonal violence. Examples include language like “bitch” and “hoe”. Author Marlon Cadogan of Stand-up Men provides one detailed example, “What does it mean to call a woman words such as “cow”? Cow = Inferior. Subhuman. Male property. Once a person is reduced to property, the abusive person can feel they can exploit and use the other in any way.”
Having awareness and challenging your behavior can be transformative. Taking small steps to not tolerate sexist, abusive attitude can add up to big strides in preventing and stopping domestic violence. Make a decision today. Inform a “buddy” to hold you accountable to your change.
4. Intervene With Caution
Talk to a friend who is verbally or physically abusive to women in a private, calm moment, rather than in public or directly after an abusive incident.
Talk to a group of his friends and strategize a group response. (There is strength in numbers.)
If you are a high school or college student, approach a trusted teacher, professor, social worker, or health professional. Tell them what you have observed and ask them to do something, or ask them to advise you on how you might proceed.
5. Listen and Support the Victim/Survivor
If a victim/survivor comes forward about the abuse, be supportive. Listen privately and separately. Do not blame the victim. Validate the person’s feelings by believing her. Support her coming forward about the abuse. Understand it isn’t easy and often not safe for the victim/survivor to “just leave”.
Help the victim/survivor understand the power and control dynamics of abuse and the life-threatening safety and health risks when there is escalating violence that affects her and her children. Don’t pressure the victim/survivor to leave when the situation is not fully understood and the victim/survivor is not ready. Empower the victim/survivor to make the best decision for herself and the children. Put safety first. Listen calmly, fully, and patiently.
6. Get Help. Contact Local Agencies
Learn about shelter, counseling & your legal rights
• 24-hr English hotline: 1-800-621-HOPE (1-800-621-4673)
• 24-hr hotline in 12 East & South Asian languages:
New York Asian Women’s Center
• 24-hr hotline in Korean (한국어 상담):
1-718-460-3800 뉴욕가정상담소 Korean American Family Srv Ctr
• 7 days a week, 9AM - 6PM, Chinese hotline 中文熱線:
1-877-990-8595 (求求您，幫我救我) Garden of Hope
• M-F, 9am-5pm, Bengali, Hindi & Urdu hotline:
1-212-868-6741 Sakhi for South Asian Women
For victim support and more information, reach out to a local agency, which can provide free, confidential, and multi-lingual support services. Agencies can offer resources and practical help such as: toll-free hotline, counseling, clothing, food, shelter, financial, legal, healthcare or referrals to medical services and much more.
Contacting an agency is helpful because it compliments your support of listening and allows professional intervention to address some of the complex issues that intersect with interpersonal violence. In the case of interpersonal violence, a witness to the violence (also known as a bystander) may not fully understand the dangers and complex dynamics involved in women staying.
Directory: http://www.nyscadv.org/directory.htm
7. Stop Making Excuses
Stop blaming abusive behavior on drugs, alcohol, job stress, anger, provocation, and “loss of control”. Only the abusive person can stop the violence by committing to a lifetime change towards positive non-violent behavior. This has to be the abusive person’s decision to change the harmful behavior.
8. Honor Choice
Part of stopping VAW is about recognizing and honoring her choice. By respecting things like her decision to say yes and no and her freedom to make choices, you are honoring her basic human rights. Honor your mother, sister, grandmother, family member, colleagues and friends by treating her with care.
9. Speak Out
Mentor, teach, and display to young kids how to behave in ways that don’t involve degrading and abusive patterns. Use phrases like it is “not right” and “not cool” if they participate in behavior that disrespects women on any level. One slogan to keep in mind is:
“Real men don’t abuse women”
“If we can get men to drop their macho stance, we can end violence against women.” – Marlon Cadogan, Stand-Up Guys
“If we see a woman as just body parts, something we own or control, we will continue to be violent”, “Objectification is the beginning of thinking we can do whatever we want with a woman. We need to see women as our equals.” – Quentin Walcott, CONNECT
10. Volunteer
Volunteer with us to reduce and prevent domestic violence in YOUR communities.
We have a Project Speak Out volunteer training scheduled on Saturday, July 30, from 10am – 6pm; we will provide lunch. Afterward, you will receive a certificate of completion for the training and be ready to start volunteering.
We will go over the following topics during the training:
• Bringing in the Bystander: A Prevention Workshop for Establishing a Community of Responsibility
• Domestic violence
• Asian-Americans & domestic violence
• Project Speak Out
• Outreach & Activities: Role of Volunteer, Resources
Contact us below if you are interested: Project Speak Out Manager, Tel: (212) 732-0054 ext 163, Email: projectspeakout@nyawc.org
10 Things You Can Do To Combat Domestic Violence
1. Understand the Dynamics of Domestic Violence
The results of domestic violence can be deadly. 12 women in NYC were recently killed by way of domestic violence in about a month.
Domestic Violence (DV), also known as Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) or Interpersonal Violence (IV), is about maintaining power and control over another. Abused persons live in a controlling environment, feels fear and often “walks on eggshells”.
Abuse takes many forms. Examples of abuse include: physical abuse ranging from pinching and shoving to physical assault (strangulation, punching, kicking, use of items causing injury), verbal/emotional abuse (degrading remarks and threats of harm and deportation, intimidation, sexist comments), financial abuse, sexual exploitation and rape, and symbolic violence (throwing furniture, punching walls, etc).
2. Know the Facts
• An international statistic from the United Nations shows that 1 in 3 women will experience some form of violence in her lifetime.
• 1/4 of ALL women will experience DV in her lifetime.
• 1/3 of all women murdered, were killed by their partners with over 16,000 murders due to an intimate partner.
3. Be Aware of Your Own Attitude
Challenge how your own behaviors and words contribute towards violence and the violation of women and others. Check out your own attitude. Look within. Think of how your own thinking and behavioral patterns were shaped by those you observed growing up.
How do you refer to women in every day speech? Each culture bares responsibility for reducing violence against women and interpersonal violence. Examples include language like “bitch” and “hoe”. Author Marlon Cadogan of Stand-up Men provides one detailed example, “What does it mean to call a woman words such as “cow”? Cow = Inferior. Subhuman. Male property. Once a person is reduced to property, the abusive person can feel they can exploit and use the other in any way.”
Having awareness and challenging your behavior can be transformative. Taking small steps to not tolerate sexist, abusive attitude can add up to big strides in preventing and stopping domestic violence. Make a decision today. Inform a “buddy” to hold you accountable to your change.
4. Intervene With Caution
Talk to a friend who is verbally or physically abusive to women in a private, calm moment, rather than in public or directly after an abusive incident.
Talk to a group of his friends and strategize a group response. (There is strength in numbers.)
If you are a high school or college student, approach a trusted teacher, professor, social worker, or health professional. Tell them what you have observed and ask them to do something, or ask them to advise you on how you might proceed.
5. Listen and Support the Victim/Survivor
If a victim/survivor comes forward about the abuse, be supportive. Listen privately and separately. Do not blame the victim. Validate the person’s feelings by believing her. Support her coming forward about the abuse. Understand it isn’t easy and often not safe for the victim/survivor to “just leave”.
Help the victim/survivor understand the power and control dynamics of abuse and the life-threatening safety and health risks when there is escalating violence that affects her and her children. Don’t pressure the victim/survivor to leave when the situation is not fully understood and the victim/survivor is not ready. Empower the victim/survivor to make the best decision for herself and the children. Put safety first. Listen calmly, fully, and patiently.
6. Get Help. Contact Local Agencies
Learn about shelter, counseling & your legal rights
• 24-hr English hotline: 1-800-621-HOPE (1-800-621-4673)
• 24-hr hotline in 12 East & South Asian languages:
New York Asian Women’s Center
• 24-hr hotline in Korean (한국어 상담):
1-718-460-3800 뉴욕가정상담소 Korean American Family Srv Ctr
• 7 days a week, 9AM - 6PM, Chinese hotline 中文熱線:
1-877-990-8595 (求求您，幫我救我) Garden of Hope
• M-F, 9am-5pm, Bengali, Hindi & Urdu hotline:
1-212-868-6741 Sakhi for South Asian Women
For victim support and more information, reach out to a local agency, which can provide free, confidential, and multi-lingual support services. Agencies can offer resources and practical help such as: toll-free hotline, counseling, clothing, food, shelter, financial, legal, healthcare or referrals to medical services and much more.
Contacting an agency is helpful because it compliments your support of listening and allows professional intervention to address some of the complex issues that intersect with interpersonal violence. In the case of interpersonal violence, a witness to the violence (also known as a bystander) may not fully understand the dangers and complex dynamics involved in women staying.
Directory: http://www.nyscadv.org/directory.htm
7. Stop Making Excuses
Stop blaming abusive behavior on drugs, alcohol, job stress, anger, provocation, and “loss of control”. Only the abusive person can stop the violence by committing to a lifetime change towards positive non-violent behavior. This has to be the abusive person’s decision to change the harmful behavior.
8. Honor Choice
Part of stopping VAW is about recognizing and honoring her choice. By respecting things like her decision to say yes and no and her freedom to make choices, you are honoring her basic human rights. Honor your mother, sister, grandmother, family member, colleagues and friends by treating her with care.
9. Speak Out
Mentor, teach, and display to young kids how to behave in ways that don’t involve degrading and abusive patterns. Use phrases like it is “not right” and “not cool” if they participate in behavior that disrespects women on any level. One slogan to keep in mind is:
“Real men don’t abuse women”
“If we can get men to drop their macho stance, we can end violence against women.” – Marlon Cadogan, Stand-Up Guys
“If we see a woman as just body parts, something we own or control, we will continue to be violent”, “Objectification is the beginning of thinking we can do whatever we want with a woman. We need to see women as our equals.” – Quentin Walcott, CONNECT
10. Volunteer
Volunteer with us to reduce and prevent domestic violence in YOUR communities.
We have a Project Speak Out volunteer training scheduled on Saturday, July 30, from 10am – 6pm; we will provide lunch. Afterward, you will receive a certificate of completion for the training and be ready to start volunteering.
We will go over the following topics during the training:
• Bringing in the Bystander: A Prevention Workshop for Establishing a Community of Responsibility
• Domestic violence
• Asian-Americans & domestic violence
• Project Speak Out
• Outreach & Activities: Role of Volunteer, Resources
Contact us below if you are interested: Project Speak Out Manager, Tel: (212) 732-0054 ext 163, Email: projectspeakout@nyawc.org
Friday, July 1, 2011
FREE training on how to reduce & prevent domestic violence
Saturday, July 30, 10am - 6pm. We will provide lunch.
In less than 2 months, there were 12 domestic-violence-related murders in NYC. Help bring the number down to zero.
Project Speak Out is a new initiative in which four Asian-American domestic-violence agencies in NYC (New York Asian Women’s Center, Sakhi for South Asian Women, Korean American Family Service Center, and Garden of Hope) are working on a unique project to reduce and PREVENT domestic violence in NY’s Asian-American communities. http://nynp.biz/breaking-news/5707-project-speak-out-creates-pan-asian-voice-against-domestic-violence-
Instead of organizations going into communities to talk about domestic violence, volunteers themselves will interact with their fellow neighbors, friends, and families to change individual & community attitudes & behaviors toward domestic violence. As Project Speak Out volunteers, these community members, who might speak the language or share the culture of their audience, will make sure that three core messages are passed on:
1. Domestic violence DOES EXIST in our communities
2. Women are not to be blamed for the violence perpetrated against them
3. YOU as an individual/group CAN TAKE ACTION! (and suggest ways to take that action)
We will train you on what domestic violence is and how to engage and mobilize individuals and groups in communities to take action!
We will go over the following topics during the training:
• Bringing in the Bystander: A Prevention Workshop for Establishing a Community of Responsibility
• Domestic violence
• Asian-Americans and domestic violence
• Project Speak Out
• Outreach and Activities: Role of Volunteer, Resources
You do NOT need to speak an Asian language to volunteer
**Please note: quite a few of the New York Asian Women’s Center employees started as volunteers.
Contact: Project Speak Out Manager, Tel: (212) 732-0054 ext 163, Email: projectspeakout@nyawc.org
Facebook Page: ProjectSpeakOut
Twitter: @ProjectSpeakOut
Blog: projectspeakout.blogspot.com
In less than 2 months, there were 12 domestic-violence-related murders in NYC. Help bring the number down to zero.
Project Speak Out is a new initiative in which four Asian-American domestic-violence agencies in NYC (New York Asian Women’s Center, Sakhi for South Asian Women, Korean American Family Service Center, and Garden of Hope) are working on a unique project to reduce and PREVENT domestic violence in NY’s Asian-American communities. http://nynp.biz/breaking-news/5707-project-speak-out-creates-pan-asian-voice-against-domestic-violence-
Instead of organizations going into communities to talk about domestic violence, volunteers themselves will interact with their fellow neighbors, friends, and families to change individual & community attitudes & behaviors toward domestic violence. As Project Speak Out volunteers, these community members, who might speak the language or share the culture of their audience, will make sure that three core messages are passed on:
1. Domestic violence DOES EXIST in our communities
2. Women are not to be blamed for the violence perpetrated against them
3. YOU as an individual/group CAN TAKE ACTION! (and suggest ways to take that action)
We will train you on what domestic violence is and how to engage and mobilize individuals and groups in communities to take action!
We will go over the following topics during the training:
• Bringing in the Bystander: A Prevention Workshop for Establishing a Community of Responsibility
• Domestic violence
• Asian-Americans and domestic violence
• Project Speak Out
• Outreach and Activities: Role of Volunteer, Resources
You do NOT need to speak an Asian language to volunteer
**Please note: quite a few of the New York Asian Women’s Center employees started as volunteers.
Contact: Project Speak Out Manager, Tel: (212) 732-0054 ext 163, Email: projectspeakout@nyawc.org
Facebook Page: ProjectSpeakOut
Twitter: @ProjectSpeakOut
Blog: projectspeakout.blogspot.com
Monday, June 20, 2011
We will present at National Organization for Women (NOW) National Conference about Project Speak Out
We are excited about the following workshop at the National Organization for Women (NOW) National Conference; hundreds of activists from across the nation will attend. There were many workshop proposals on violence against women and immigrant rights; we are honored they included our proposal.
Breakout Session II: Friday, June 24, 2011, 3:45pm - 5:15pm
Anti-Immigrant Sentiment, Domestic Violence, and Families: A Narrative of Liberation
Salon B
This multi-faceted workshop will address a series of urgent problems confronting women immigrants and their feminist allies. Panelists will review the extent of anti-immigrant sentiment in the U.S. and related laws, such as the harsh new Arizona New York
Maria del
Sincerely,
N. Jerin Arifa
Project Speak Out Manager
New York
Sincerely,
N. Jerin Arifa
Project Speak Out Manager
Volunteer posts a call to other volunteers on Japanese newspaper
Thanks to volunteer Komi Kaoru for publishing the following article in the Japanese newspaper NY Syukan Seikatsu, asking others to join her as volunteers. The article below describes Project Speak Out, and asks for interested people to contact us for volunteering opportunities.
http://viewer.nyseikatsu.com/viewer/index.html?editionID=353&directory=../editions&page=19
You can also help by publishing an article in a newspaper in your language, or volunteering to go out into the community to change community attitudes and behaviors toward domestic violence. You can also help us with administrative work, such as helping us translate window signs and flyers - one of the goals of Project Speak Out is to be as language-accessible as possible to Asian-Americans. Please contact us below if you are interested. Thank you.
Contact:
Project Speak Out Manager, Tel: (212) 732-0054 ext 163, Email: projectspeakout@nyawc.org
http://viewer.nyseikatsu.com/viewer/index.html?editionID=353&directory=../editions&page=19
You can also help by publishing an article in a newspaper in your language, or volunteering to go out into the community to change community attitudes and behaviors toward domestic violence. You can also help us with administrative work, such as helping us translate window signs and flyers - one of the goals of Project Speak Out is to be as language-accessible as possible to Asian-Americans. Please contact us below if you are interested. Thank you.
Contact:
Project Speak Out Manager, Tel: (212) 732-0054 ext 163, Email: projectspeakout@nyawc.org
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Action Alert: Ask your senators to help domestic violence victims by extending length of stay in shelters
WE NEED YOUR HELP TO MAKE CALLS AND SIGN PETITION!! PLEASE DO THIS BY FRIDAY! Try to get your friends and co-workers to make the calls. We need numerous calls per location.
We must continue the fight to extend the length of stay in domestic violence shelters to 180 days. This legislation has already passed in the Assembly. Now it needs to pass in the Senate. We are urging you to call (and ask all of your friends/co-workers to call) the Senators below and sign the petition below. PLEASE HELP!!
PHONE CALLS
Senator Patrick Gallivan – Chair of the Social Services Committee (518-455-3471)
Senator Daniel Squadron – Ranking Member of the Social Services Committee (518-455-2625 or 212-298-5565)
Senator Dean Skelos – Majority Leader (518-455-3171)
Sample script: "I am calling to urge Senator ___, to vote S.973 out of Committee. This important piece of legislation will save victims' lives by allowing them to stay in emergency domestic violence shelter for 180 days. This additional time will mean better housing outcomes, increased safety, and self-sufficiency. This legislation is cost neutral."
PETITION
To sign the petition, click here:
http://www.change.org/petitions/help-domestic-violence-victims-stay-safe-in-new-york-city?share_id=JdkBknndSL&pe=d2e
http://www.change.org/petitions/help-domestic-violence-victims-stay-safe-in-new-york-city?share_id=JdkBknndSL&pe=d2e
THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Announcing our logo contest winner: Anum Awan
A big thanks to Anum Awan, www.anumawan.com, who designed our logo. She worked on various versions to come up with the final one you see as our profile photo. Anum is a designer and artist from Pakistan currently based in Boston, attending Massachusetts College of Art and Design for a BFA in Graphic Design. Congratulations to Anum on wining our logo contest. http://ow.ly/58AfQ
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Action Alert: Don't Let Guns into the Hands of Abusers
From NOW-NYC:
This act will align our state's reporting with the FBI, so that the federal law keeping guns out of the hands of abusers can be enforced. Convicted domestic violence abusers attempting to buy a gun will be flagged in the required background check and their application will be denied. Read more.
Do you have 5 extra minutes? Then also call your Assemblymemberand push for him/her to pass this critical bill.
What you can say: Hi, I'm [name] from [neighborhood & borough]. I'd like to urge you to support the passage of Assembly bill 698, which will prevent convicted batterers from buying guns. Please pass this bill - which could literally save lives.
If you have more time to devote to this issue and want to get involved with our phone lobbying, please call (212) 627-9895.
Don't Let Guns into the Hands of Abusers
Anti-Violence Bill A.698B/S.4244A
Guns are the #1 weapon used in DV murders. It's already federal law that domestic abusers cannot buy guns, but some abusers in NYS are falling through the cracks. We need to fix our state's reporting requirements to the FBI to make sure guns are kept out of the hands ofall convicted batterers. Your Assemblymember needs to hear from you!Anti-Violence Bill A.698B/S.4244A
This act will align our state's reporting with the FBI, so that the federal law keeping guns out of the hands of abusers can be enforced. Convicted domestic violence abusers attempting to buy a gun will be flagged in the required background check and their application will be denied. Read more.
Call Today!
This bill's fate will be decided within the next few days.
Call: Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (518) 455-3791
Codes Committee Chair/Assemblyman Joseph Lentol (518) 455-4477Call: Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (518) 455-3791
Do you have 5 extra minutes? Then also call your Assemblymemberand push for him/her to pass this critical bill.
What you can say: Hi, I'm [name] from [neighborhood & borough]. I'd like to urge you to support the passage of Assembly bill 698, which will prevent convicted batterers from buying guns. Please pass this bill - which could literally save lives.
If you have more time to devote to this issue and want to get involved with our phone lobbying, please call (212) 627-9895.
Monday, May 16, 2011
FREE training on how to reduce & prevent domestic violence
Two different opportunities: Saturday 5/21 & Tuesday 5/31. We will provide lunch.
In less than 2 months, there were 12 domestic-violence-related murders in NYC. Help bring the number down to zero.
Project Speak Out is a new initiative in which four Asian-American domestic-violence agencies in NYC (New York Asian Women’s Center, Sakhi for South Asian Women, Korean American Family Service Center, and Garden of Hope) are working on a unique project to reduce and PREVENT domestic violence in NY’s Asian-American communities. http://nynp.biz/breaking-news/5707-project-speak-out-creates-pan-asian-voice-against-domestic-violence-
Instead of organizations going into communities to talk about domestic violence, volunteers themselves will interact with their fellow neighbors, friends, and families to change individual & community attitudes & behaviors toward domestic violence. As Project Speak Out volunteers, these community members, who might speak the language or share the culture of their audience, will make sure that three core messages are passed on:
1. Domestic violence DOES EXIST in our communities
2. Women are not to be blamed for the violence perpetrated against them
3. YOU as an individual/group CAN TAKE ACTION! (and suggest ways to take that action)
We will train you on what domestic violence is and how to engage and mobilize individuals and groups in communities to take action!
We will go over the following topics during the training:
• Bringing in the Bystander: A Prevention Workshop for Establishing a Community of Responsibility
• Domestic violence
• Asian-Americans and domestic violence
• Project Speak Out
• Outreach and Activities: Role of Volunteer, Resources
You do NOT need to speak an Asian language to volunteer
**Please note: quite a few of the New York Asian Women’s Center employees started as volunteers.
Contact: Project Speak Out Manager, Tel: (212) 732-0054 ext 163, Email: projectspeakout@nyawc.org
Facebook Page: ProjectSpeakOut
Twitter: @ProjectSpeakOut
Blog: projectspeakout.blogspot.com
In less than 2 months, there were 12 domestic-violence-related murders in NYC. Help bring the number down to zero.
Project Speak Out is a new initiative in which four Asian-American domestic-violence agencies in NYC (New York Asian Women’s Center, Sakhi for South Asian Women, Korean American Family Service Center, and Garden of Hope) are working on a unique project to reduce and PREVENT domestic violence in NY’s Asian-American communities. http://nynp.biz/breaking-news/5707-project-speak-out-creates-pan-asian-voice-against-domestic-violence-
Instead of organizations going into communities to talk about domestic violence, volunteers themselves will interact with their fellow neighbors, friends, and families to change individual & community attitudes & behaviors toward domestic violence. As Project Speak Out volunteers, these community members, who might speak the language or share the culture of their audience, will make sure that three core messages are passed on:
1. Domestic violence DOES EXIST in our communities
2. Women are not to be blamed for the violence perpetrated against them
3. YOU as an individual/group CAN TAKE ACTION! (and suggest ways to take that action)
We will train you on what domestic violence is and how to engage and mobilize individuals and groups in communities to take action!
We will go over the following topics during the training:
• Bringing in the Bystander: A Prevention Workshop for Establishing a Community of Responsibility
• Domestic violence
• Asian-Americans and domestic violence
• Project Speak Out
• Outreach and Activities: Role of Volunteer, Resources
You do NOT need to speak an Asian language to volunteer
**Please note: quite a few of the New York Asian Women’s Center employees started as volunteers.
Contact: Project Speak Out Manager, Tel: (212) 732-0054 ext 163, Email: projectspeakout@nyawc.org
Facebook Page: ProjectSpeakOut
Twitter: @ProjectSpeakOut
Blog: projectspeakout.blogspot.com
Friday, April 29, 2011
New York’s largest group of neighborhood newspapers covers our event
Yournabe.com, part of New York’s largest group of neighborhood newspapers, covered our community forum to end domestic violence, where we introduced Project Speak Out.
Asian-American panel views domestic violence
By Connor Adams Sheets
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 1:54 PM EDT
The seemingly intractable scourge of domestic violence among Asian Americans was front and center at a panel discussion last week in Flushing.
The April 14 conference, called “Out of the Darkness: Confronting Domestic Violence in Our Community,” brought together representatives of academia, community organizing groups, the corporate world and law enforcement in an engaging conversation about ending abuse in the Asian-American Diaspora.
As panelist Jerin Arifa, the manager of the New York Asian Women's Center's Project Speak Out program who is also active in the National Organization for Women, said, Asian communities are sometime especially vulnerable to the ravages of domestic violence and the silence that all too often accompanies it.
Whether they avoid confrontation as a result of fatalism, immigration concerns, the belief in karma or other cultural issues, many Asian domestic violence victims never leave their abusers or seek help, Arifa said.
And with that reluctance comes a toll. Last year the NYPD took 247,000 calls about domestic violence incidents, and 75 people — 24 of them children — were killed as a result of domestic violence, according to NYPD Sgt. Stephen Kurz.
“The pan-Asian community must get out the message that violence will not be tolerated against our mothers, our sisters and our daughters,” Arifa said, echoing the statements of other panelists.
The panel members and attendees are working hard at their varied organizations to bring domestic violence out of the shadows, get the word out about ways to get help and educate the Asian population about its dangers.
“One way that all of us can get involved, can get engaged, is by educating ourselves and knowing what resources are available in the community for domestic violence victims and survivors,” said CUNY School of Law Professor Donna Lee, the discussion’s moderator.
Larry Lee, executive director of the New York Asian Women’s Center, which hosted the event at the YWCA, at 42-07 Parsons Blvd., put it simply. He said there are a couple of things he wishes everyone knew about domestic violence to begin the process of stopping it from continuing in the future.
“There’s domestic violence in the Asian-American community. The victim is not to be blamed. And there are places where you can get help,” he said.
Asian-American panel views domestic violence
By Connor Adams Sheets
Wednesday, April 27, 2011 1:54 PM EDT
The seemingly intractable scourge of domestic violence among Asian Americans was front and center at a panel discussion last week in Flushing.
The April 14 conference, called “Out of the Darkness: Confronting Domestic Violence in Our Community,” brought together representatives of academia, community organizing groups, the corporate world and law enforcement in an engaging conversation about ending abuse in the Asian-American Diaspora.
As panelist Jerin Arifa, the manager of the New York Asian Women's Center's Project Speak Out program who is also active in the National Organization for Women, said, Asian communities are sometime especially vulnerable to the ravages of domestic violence and the silence that all too often accompanies it.
Whether they avoid confrontation as a result of fatalism, immigration concerns, the belief in karma or other cultural issues, many Asian domestic violence victims never leave their abusers or seek help, Arifa said.
And with that reluctance comes a toll. Last year the NYPD took 247,000 calls about domestic violence incidents, and 75 people — 24 of them children — were killed as a result of domestic violence, according to NYPD Sgt. Stephen Kurz.
“The pan-Asian community must get out the message that violence will not be tolerated against our mothers, our sisters and our daughters,” Arifa said, echoing the statements of other panelists.
The panel members and attendees are working hard at their varied organizations to bring domestic violence out of the shadows, get the word out about ways to get help and educate the Asian population about its dangers.
“One way that all of us can get involved, can get engaged, is by educating ourselves and knowing what resources are available in the community for domestic violence victims and survivors,” said CUNY School of Law Professor Donna Lee, the discussion’s moderator.
Larry Lee, executive director of the New York Asian Women’s Center, which hosted the event at the YWCA, at 42-07 Parsons Blvd., put it simply. He said there are a couple of things he wishes everyone knew about domestic violence to begin the process of stopping it from continuing in the future.
“There’s domestic violence in the Asian-American community. The victim is not to be blamed. And there are places where you can get help,” he said.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Four separate Chinese Newspapers spotlight our work
Four separate Chinese Newspapers: Ming Pao Daily NY, Sinovision, Singtao Daily East USA and World Journal, covered our community forum to end domestic violence, where we introduced Project Speak Out. Please find below the titles translated.
Ming Pao Daily NY:
Agency held a community forum to discuss Asian domestic violence issue. Traditional attitude would reinforce violence; women should be bold to seek help.
Friday, 15 April 2011
Friday, 15 April 2011
Sinovision:
http://174.120.145.163:82/gate/big5/epaper.sinovision.net/?pid=14643
http://gate.sinovision.net:82/gate/big5/video.sinovision.net/?id=1798
http://gate.sinovision.net:82/gate/big5/video.sinovision.net/?id=1798
Community forum to understand Domestic Violence in Asian American community. City Councilman Peter Koo encouraged victims to have courage to stand out and fight for their right.
Friday, 15 April 2011
Friday, 15 April 2011
Singtao Daily East USA :
“New York Asian Women Center Forum” to talk about Domestic Violence in Asian Community
Friday, 15 April 2011
Friday, 15 April 2011
World Journal:
“New York Asian Women Center
Friday, 15 April 2011
Friday, 15 April 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
Two separate Korean Newspapers spotlight our work
Two separate Korean Newspapers, The Korea Times and The Korea Daily, covered our community forum to end domestic violence, where we introduced Project Speak Out.
For those of you who do not understand Korean, here is a short summary of the articles below.
The Korea Daily
http://www.koreadaily.com/news/read.asp?art_id=1181637
For those of you who do not understand Korean, here is a short summary of the articles below.
The Korea Daily
http://www.koreadaily.com/news/read.asp?art_id=1181637
April 14, 2011
The Korea Times
http://ny.koreatimes.com/article/655910
Friday, 4/15/11, edition on the home page!
Steven Kurz, a Sargeant in the Office of the Chief of Dept. for Domestic Violence, is quoted as saying, there are 270,000 DV reports in New York every year, and 677 calls a day. The numbers coming from the Asian community are very low. However, he is aware that undocumented Asians fear that their status would be revealed, preventing them from calling NYPD. He confirmed that the NYPD does NOT care about someone’s immigration status, and police officers are not allowed to inquire about someone’s status. The article mentions project partners NYAWC and KAFSC, and describes Project Speak Out as a campaign to bring about more Domestic Violence awareness. KAFSC’s Executive Director Grace Yoon is quoted.
Thursday, April 21, 2011
$200,000 matching grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to launch Project Speak Out
The following is an excerpt from the latest New York Asian Women's Center (NYAWC) newsletter, describing the grants that make Project Speak Out possible.
NYAWC Receives $200,000 from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
NYAWC recently received a $200,000 matching grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to launch Project Speak Out, a grassroots initiative to address domestic violence in New York City’s Asian-American community. Local funding partners including the Asian American Federation, The Grace and Mercy Foundation, Korean American Community Foundation, Ong Family Foundation and Tiger Baron Foundation have contributed matching grants totaling $150,000 so far. Distributed over two years, the grants will enable NYAWC and its project partners—Garden of Hope, Korean American Family Service Center and Sakhi for South Asian Women—to recruit volunteers from the community to foster attitudinal change about domestic violence and engage in a community-wide movement to stop abusive behavior. Project Speak Out will also help survivors become informed of their rights and available assistance and encourage them to seek help.
“We’re not just raising awareness; we are creating momentum for long-term community change,” says Alyssa Elser, Director of Shelters and Operations. “We will work with everyone—women, youth, elders, religious leaders, shopkeepers, students, housewives and men—to embrace traditional ideas about non-violence and harmonious homes that should make DV unacceptable. Our volunteers will craft and execute a plan of action that encourages people not just to be aware, but to take small but significant steps to send a clear message that violence against their mothers, sisters and daughters will not be tolerated.”
NYAWC thanks the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and our local funding partners for their support of Project Speak Out.
To volunteer for Project Speak Out, please contact NYAWC’s Project Speak Out Manager, Ms. Jerin Arifa, at jarifa@nyawc.org or 212-732-0054 ext. 163.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Men Speak Out Against Sexist Coverage of Rape: A Call to Action
Project partner Ted Kang and I just completed a thoughtful training against Domestic Violence at CONNECT. They continue their good work with the call to action below. As part of Project Speak Out, all four project partners will engage men to end violence against men, and Ted will focus on an action group of men.
Sincerely,
N. Jerin Arifa
Project Speak Out Team
New York Asian Women's Center (NYAWC)
Over 40 activists, professors, authors, artists, therapists, advocates, providers and other leaders from the nation's anti-violence movement have signed this call to action. Please download post and distribute widely! For more information and feedback please contact Quentin Walcott qwalcott@connectnyc.org
Men Speak Out About Sexist Coverage of Rape: A Call to Action
April 2011
In the struggle to stop rape and all forms of men's violence against women, it is time for men to leave the sidelines and get in the game. One important step we can take is to raise our voices and insist that the spotlight in media coverage of rape turns away from a fixation on victims and their behavior and instead focuses on abusive men and boys - and the culture that produces and makes excuses for them. We make this demand not only as concerned citizens and responsible members of our communities - but as men from virtually every cultural/racial/ethnic/religious background.
There is some progress to report, albeit progress in response to yet another depressing reminder of how far we still have to come. Consider this: reaction to the victim-blaming in a recent New York Times story about a brutal gang rape in East Texas has been fast and furious. Over the past several weeks, columnists, bloggers, victim advocates and anti-rape activists - women and men - have criticized the March 8 Times story for the way its use of selective quotes suggested that an 11-year-old girl in effect contributed to the assault against her by "wearing make-up and fashions more appropriate to a woman in her twenties;" In addition, critics have responded to the perception conveyed in the article that among the residents of Cleveland, Texas there is greater concern for the nineteen men and boys facing allegations of rape than for the young girl.
The Times Public Editor !rthur Brisbane agreed with much of the criticism of the piece: "My assessment," he wrote just a few days later, "is that the outrage is understandable; The story dealt with a hideous crime but addressed concerns about the ruined lives of the perpetrators without acknowledging the obvious: concern for the victim;" (The Times front page follow-up story on March 28 did a lot better, offering an extended portrait of the girl, whom they described as having been "an honor roll student, brimming with enthusiasm;")
This tragic case will provide lessons for future news writing classes and journalistic ethics seminars. Clearly, news operations need guidance about how to cover sex crimes without perpetuating misogynous cultural attitudes.
But for those of us who work to end men's violence against women, this incident is less about the specific details of one horrific act of rape in a distressed community in Texas, and more about the broader themes of power, privilege, misogyny, class and race that the act itself-and the coverage it generated - so poignantly exemplify.
We have to ask some difficult questions: why would a group of men and boys sexually violate a vulnerable 11-year-old girl? What does this say not only about them or the small community where they live, but about the society - our society - that raised them? "What are we teaching men and boys about their attitudes and behavior towards girls?" and even further..."What are we teaching men and boys about themselves?"
Because of the class, ethnicity, and race of those involved, some people will predictably attribute this atrocity to the effects of poverty and fatherlessness, which is a coded reference to family dysfunction in communities of color. But gang rapes and the attitudes behind them are perpetrated by wealthy and middle-class white men and boys, too, including boys from "intact" families with present fathers. Just last October at Yale University, DKE pledges marched on Old Campus--home to the majority of Yale's first-year female students--chanting "No means yes" along with graphic sexual slurs that both demeaned women and glorified sexual violence. White men with privilege routinely perpetrate unspeakable sexual crimes against women in their own families, as well as other women and girls; What's the explanation for their sexist violence?
It seems to us that while questions of class and race are germane in this and many other cases, they are far less relevant than questions of gender. In particular, unless we believe that males across the board are born genetically deficient, we need to ask some fundamental questions, i.e.: How do we socialize our boys? How do we assign certain attitudes and behaviors as "normal?" And, ultimately: What does it mean to be a man in 21st century America?
For too many young men, communal rituals of sexism perpetuate negative notions of manhood. Most of us are rightly horrified when we read about gang rape. But group sexual assault is best understood as being at the extreme end of a continuum of behaviors that normalize men's sexist treatment of women. What about college guys hiring strippers for private parties and openly calling those women "bitches and hoes"? !nd let's not forget - an entire genre in pornography is devoted to simulated scenes of gang rape which in many quarters is considered socially acceptable entertainment for men, who sometimes watch it in groups.
One of the most disturbing aspects of this gang rape (as in others) is how often the alleged perpetrators videotape the event. In the Cleveland, Texas assault, the police investigation was prompted, according to the Times, when an elementary school student alerted a teacher to a cell phone video that included one of her classmates. Why would men videotape an incident that literally documents their commission of a first-degree felony unless they thought 1) there was absolutely no chance of them being caught or 2) they weren't doing anything wrong?
It is this last possibility that is most disturbing, because it implicates not just the men and boys who have been charged with the crime, but all of us. What role does each of us play in defining and perpetuating social norms? Moreover, what is the responsibility of adult men not only to girls, but to boys? What is the responsibility that each of us has to teach, mentor and model for younger men and boys non-sexist attitudes and behaviors toward women?
It is important to emphasize that we can primarily be concerned about the actual victim in this case and be empathetic with the boys and young men who are charged with this awful crime. How many of them were coerced to participate by older adolescents and young adults? How many of the younger boys acquiesced because they wanted to fit in and be respected as "one of the guys?"
Like other gang rapes, the East Texas case furnishes a powerful metaphor about silence and complicity, because gang rapes can often be prevented if just one guy takes a stand. Can it really be true that there wasn't one guy - or more --in the group who knew this was terribly wrong? If so, then what were the internal dynamics of the group that prevented anyone from interrupting or stopping the process? Are men (and boys) so scared of each other that no one will speak out for fear that other men will think less of them, or worse, turn the violence on them?
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. But while awareness about sexual assault is a crucial first step, it is not enough. For men in particular, we need more of a willingness to act - both locally and globally. When men speak out about rape and other forms of violence against women, we make it clear to other men that we do not tolerate or condone the mistreatment of women. We also send the message that men who mistreat women will face seriously negative social consequences for doing so - not just legal consequences. Join us and the women who have been doing this work for years. Stand up and speak out for an end to sexual violence!
In Peace and Gender Justice,
Bernardo Villafane, New Start Services
Byron Hurt
Charles Knight, Other & Beyond Real Men
Craig Norberg-Bohm, Jane Doe Inc.
Dasan Harrington
David S. Lee, PreventConnect / California Coalition Against Sexual Assault
David J. Pate, Jr. PhD., Center on Family Policy and Practice/University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Dick Bathrick, Bathrick Consulting
Don McPherson
Ed Gondolf, Ph.D.
Emiliano Diaz de Leon, Texas Association Against Sexual Assault
Etiony Aldarondo, Ph.D
Gary Barker, PhD, Promundo and MenEngage Alliance
Greg Jacob, Service Women's Action Network
Horace Campbell
Ivan Juzang, Mee Productions
Jackson Katz, Ph.D.
Jeff O'Brien & Daryl Fort, Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP)
Jeffrey L. Edleson, Ph.D., University of Minnesota
Joe Ehrmann, Coach for America
Joseph Maldonado, CONNECT Men's Roundtable
Joshua Bee Alafia, Filmmaker
Juan Carlos Arean & Feroz Moideen, Family Violence Prevention Fund
Juan Ramos, North Brooklyn Coalition Against Family Violence
Kevin Powell
Lumumba Akinwole-Bandele
Michael Kimmel, Ph.D.
Michael A. Messner, University of Southern California
Michael Shaw, Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services, Waypoint
Neil Irvin & Pat McGann, Ph.D., Men Can Stop Rape
Paul Kivel
Quentin Walcott & Marlon Walker, CONNECT NYC
Rob Okun, VOICE MALE Magazine
Rus Funk, MensWork
Dr. Stephen Jefferson, UMass, Amherst
Steven Botkin, Ed.D., Men's Resources International
Sut Jhally, Media Education Foundation
Ted Bunch & Tony Porter, A CALL TO MEN
Ulester Douglas & Sulaiman Nuriddin, Men Stopping Violence
Victor Rivas Rivers, Actor, Author, Spokesperson/National Network to End Domestic Violence & Verizon Community Champion
Sincerely,
N. Jerin Arifa
Project Speak Out Team
New York Asian Women's Center (NYAWC)
Over 40 activists, professors, authors, artists, therapists, advocates, providers and other leaders from the nation's anti-violence movement have signed this call to action. Please download post and distribute widely! For more information and feedback please contact Quentin Walcott qwalcott@connectnyc.org
Men Speak Out About Sexist Coverage of Rape: A Call to Action
April 2011
In the struggle to stop rape and all forms of men's violence against women, it is time for men to leave the sidelines and get in the game. One important step we can take is to raise our voices and insist that the spotlight in media coverage of rape turns away from a fixation on victims and their behavior and instead focuses on abusive men and boys - and the culture that produces and makes excuses for them. We make this demand not only as concerned citizens and responsible members of our communities - but as men from virtually every cultural/racial/ethnic/religious background.
There is some progress to report, albeit progress in response to yet another depressing reminder of how far we still have to come. Consider this: reaction to the victim-blaming in a recent New York Times story about a brutal gang rape in East Texas has been fast and furious. Over the past several weeks, columnists, bloggers, victim advocates and anti-rape activists - women and men - have criticized the March 8 Times story for the way its use of selective quotes suggested that an 11-year-old girl in effect contributed to the assault against her by "wearing make-up and fashions more appropriate to a woman in her twenties;" In addition, critics have responded to the perception conveyed in the article that among the residents of Cleveland, Texas there is greater concern for the nineteen men and boys facing allegations of rape than for the young girl.
The Times Public Editor !rthur Brisbane agreed with much of the criticism of the piece: "My assessment," he wrote just a few days later, "is that the outrage is understandable; The story dealt with a hideous crime but addressed concerns about the ruined lives of the perpetrators without acknowledging the obvious: concern for the victim;" (The Times front page follow-up story on March 28 did a lot better, offering an extended portrait of the girl, whom they described as having been "an honor roll student, brimming with enthusiasm;")
This tragic case will provide lessons for future news writing classes and journalistic ethics seminars. Clearly, news operations need guidance about how to cover sex crimes without perpetuating misogynous cultural attitudes.
But for those of us who work to end men's violence against women, this incident is less about the specific details of one horrific act of rape in a distressed community in Texas, and more about the broader themes of power, privilege, misogyny, class and race that the act itself-and the coverage it generated - so poignantly exemplify.
We have to ask some difficult questions: why would a group of men and boys sexually violate a vulnerable 11-year-old girl? What does this say not only about them or the small community where they live, but about the society - our society - that raised them? "What are we teaching men and boys about their attitudes and behavior towards girls?" and even further..."What are we teaching men and boys about themselves?"
Because of the class, ethnicity, and race of those involved, some people will predictably attribute this atrocity to the effects of poverty and fatherlessness, which is a coded reference to family dysfunction in communities of color. But gang rapes and the attitudes behind them are perpetrated by wealthy and middle-class white men and boys, too, including boys from "intact" families with present fathers. Just last October at Yale University, DKE pledges marched on Old Campus--home to the majority of Yale's first-year female students--chanting "No means yes" along with graphic sexual slurs that both demeaned women and glorified sexual violence. White men with privilege routinely perpetrate unspeakable sexual crimes against women in their own families, as well as other women and girls; What's the explanation for their sexist violence?
It seems to us that while questions of class and race are germane in this and many other cases, they are far less relevant than questions of gender. In particular, unless we believe that males across the board are born genetically deficient, we need to ask some fundamental questions, i.e.: How do we socialize our boys? How do we assign certain attitudes and behaviors as "normal?" And, ultimately: What does it mean to be a man in 21st century America?
For too many young men, communal rituals of sexism perpetuate negative notions of manhood. Most of us are rightly horrified when we read about gang rape. But group sexual assault is best understood as being at the extreme end of a continuum of behaviors that normalize men's sexist treatment of women. What about college guys hiring strippers for private parties and openly calling those women "bitches and hoes"? !nd let's not forget - an entire genre in pornography is devoted to simulated scenes of gang rape which in many quarters is considered socially acceptable entertainment for men, who sometimes watch it in groups.
One of the most disturbing aspects of this gang rape (as in others) is how often the alleged perpetrators videotape the event. In the Cleveland, Texas assault, the police investigation was prompted, according to the Times, when an elementary school student alerted a teacher to a cell phone video that included one of her classmates. Why would men videotape an incident that literally documents their commission of a first-degree felony unless they thought 1) there was absolutely no chance of them being caught or 2) they weren't doing anything wrong?
It is this last possibility that is most disturbing, because it implicates not just the men and boys who have been charged with the crime, but all of us. What role does each of us play in defining and perpetuating social norms? Moreover, what is the responsibility of adult men not only to girls, but to boys? What is the responsibility that each of us has to teach, mentor and model for younger men and boys non-sexist attitudes and behaviors toward women?
It is important to emphasize that we can primarily be concerned about the actual victim in this case and be empathetic with the boys and young men who are charged with this awful crime. How many of them were coerced to participate by older adolescents and young adults? How many of the younger boys acquiesced because they wanted to fit in and be respected as "one of the guys?"
Like other gang rapes, the East Texas case furnishes a powerful metaphor about silence and complicity, because gang rapes can often be prevented if just one guy takes a stand. Can it really be true that there wasn't one guy - or more --in the group who knew this was terribly wrong? If so, then what were the internal dynamics of the group that prevented anyone from interrupting or stopping the process? Are men (and boys) so scared of each other that no one will speak out for fear that other men will think less of them, or worse, turn the violence on them?
April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. But while awareness about sexual assault is a crucial first step, it is not enough. For men in particular, we need more of a willingness to act - both locally and globally. When men speak out about rape and other forms of violence against women, we make it clear to other men that we do not tolerate or condone the mistreatment of women. We also send the message that men who mistreat women will face seriously negative social consequences for doing so - not just legal consequences. Join us and the women who have been doing this work for years. Stand up and speak out for an end to sexual violence!
In Peace and Gender Justice,
Bernardo Villafane, New Start Services
Byron Hurt
Charles Knight, Other & Beyond Real Men
Craig Norberg-Bohm, Jane Doe Inc.
Dasan Harrington
David S. Lee, PreventConnect / California Coalition Against Sexual Assault
David J. Pate, Jr. PhD., Center on Family Policy and Practice/University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Dick Bathrick, Bathrick Consulting
Don McPherson
Ed Gondolf, Ph.D.
Emiliano Diaz de Leon, Texas Association Against Sexual Assault
Etiony Aldarondo, Ph.D
Gary Barker, PhD, Promundo and MenEngage Alliance
Greg Jacob, Service Women's Action Network
Horace Campbell
Ivan Juzang, Mee Productions
Jackson Katz, Ph.D.
Jeff O'Brien & Daryl Fort, Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP)
Jeffrey L. Edleson, Ph.D., University of Minnesota
Joe Ehrmann, Coach for America
Joseph Maldonado, CONNECT Men's Roundtable
Joshua Bee Alafia, Filmmaker
Juan Carlos Arean & Feroz Moideen, Family Violence Prevention Fund
Juan Ramos, North Brooklyn Coalition Against Family Violence
Kevin Powell
Lumumba Akinwole-Bandele
Michael Kimmel, Ph.D.
Michael A. Messner, University of Southern California
Michael Shaw, Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services, Waypoint
Neil Irvin & Pat McGann, Ph.D., Men Can Stop Rape
Paul Kivel
Quentin Walcott & Marlon Walker, CONNECT NYC
Rob Okun, VOICE MALE Magazine
Rus Funk, MensWork
Dr. Stephen Jefferson, UMass, Amherst
Steven Botkin, Ed.D., Men's Resources International
Sut Jhally, Media Education Foundation
Ted Bunch & Tony Porter, A CALL TO MEN
Ulester Douglas & Sulaiman Nuriddin, Men Stopping Violence
Victor Rivas Rivers, Actor, Author, Spokesperson/National Network to End Domestic Violence & Verizon Community Champion
Friday, April 15, 2011
Linguistic Isolation in the Asian-American Community
A new report from the advocacy group, Asian Americans for Equality, has found that 60 percent of Asian Americans living in the 20 New York City neighborhoods with the highest Asian American populations speak English with limited proficiency.
Limited English Proficiency (LEP) and the lack of access to language resources is one of the biggest barriers in the lives of victims of domestic and intimate partner violence face.
A large number of the women Project Speak Out's partner agencies serve are unable to navigate the legal and welfare systems because of the lack of language specific resources in city and federal agencies, impeding their ability to live violence free lives!
ARTICLE LINK- http://www.wfuv.org/news/news-politics/110406/chinese-americans-most-linguistically-isolated-all-asian-americans-nyc
Wednesday, April 6, 2011 - 5:39pm
Limited English Proficiency (LEP) and the lack of access to language resources is one of the biggest barriers in the lives of victims of domestic and intimate partner violence face.
A large number of the women Project Speak Out's partner agencies serve are unable to navigate the legal and welfare systems because of the lack of language specific resources in city and federal agencies, impeding their ability to live violence free lives!
ARTICLE LINK- http://www.wfuv.org/news/news-politics/110406/chinese-americans-most-linguistically-isolated-all-asian-americans-nyc
Wednesday, April 6, 2011 - 5:39pm
The report also found that 42.5% of Asian Americans reside in linguistically isolated households, or homes where no one over five years old speaks English with proficiency.
Neighborhoods with the highest rates of linguistically isolated homes are Chinatown, Flushing and Jackson Heights in Queens, and Sunset Park in Brooklyn.
Doug Le with Asian Americans for Equality said that within these neighborhoods it is very easy to live without speaking English.
“You can honestly live your daily life speaking your native tongue,” Le said. “You can get help at the subway station buy food, you can go to church, often times you can go to get social services or primary care.”
But Le said many immigrants face problems when they seek services beyond these neighborhoods, specifically those looking for classes to learn English.
“When they arrive [in New York], there are limited opportunities to learn English. Many social services agencies do provide ESL to individuals, but there’s never nearly enough slots in these classes for individuals who want to learn English,” Le said.
JB is a Chinese immigrant who moved to America eight years ago, when he was 18. He and his two sisters learned English, but his parents still only speak Cantonese. He said while his mother has taken advantage of some English classes at their local library in Bay Ridge, but his father is unable to attend, due to his job as a construction worker.
“My father doesn’t have time and it’s an issue,” JB said. “He said if he was younger and had the time to take classes and study like me, he would go.”
JB said he has to translate for his parents during doctors appointments, as well as make sense of tax forms and business letters.
New York City councilmember Margaret Chin used to teach English to Chinese immigrants before joining the city council. She said there needs to be more classes available.
“We need to fight for more ESL classes. There are people on the waiting list, and there’s not enough classes available at time where people are available to attend. They work during the day,” Chin said.
Chin said many times residents in her district, which includes Chinatown, will come in looking for translation help. “They get documents in the mail, parents getting letters from school,” she said.
Chin also said a large number of residents are people who were arrested, but couldn’t defend themselves because they couldn’t speak the language fluently.
“There needs to be more education to let people know they have a right to a translator,” Chin asserted.
Le, with AAFE, says not only are many immigrants unable to speak English, but they are also illiterate in their native language, which creates additional problems.
“It’s partially because of age, partially because of immigration history,” he said. “Many seniors grew up in rural areas that didn’t have access to formal education or because of the war (WWII), they were in and out of school. The reality is the immigrants who come to New York are the highest and lowest rung of the socioeconomic ladder. Many are uneducated.”
As part of executive order 120, New York City agencies are required to provide language access in the top five languages, but Le said there are many dialects that fall through the cracks, forcing people to bring their children along as well. He said that puts children in a precarious situation, especially if they have to translate a domestic violence issue or a cancer diagnosis.
“These are situations children aren’t ready to face,” Le said.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Thu, 4/14: Out of the Darkness: Confronting Domestic Violence in Our Community
All four project partners look forward to seeing you on April 14th at our 2011 event, “Out of the Darkness: Confronting Domestic Violence in Our Community”.
“[W]e renew our commitment to assisting those who have been victimized by crime and supporting those who help survivors rebuild their lives.” - Barack Obama, Presidential Proclamation – National Crime Victims’ Rights Week, April 8, 2011
We are gathering to unite as advocates, service providers, civic and business leaders, law enforcement, survivors, and community members to send a strong message that domestic violence is being taken seriously.
1) We understand the effects it has on the individual and community’s long-term health and safety. Domestic violence also has deadly consequences.
2) We want to ensure victims from all communities of color are treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.
3) We can all take action to support and protect victims, and to prevent the cycle of domestic violence happening in our families and neighborhoods.
during National Crime Victims’ Rights Week
Out of the Darkness:
Confronting Domestic Violence
in Our Community
Domestic violence goes beyond interpersonal violence and
affects the entire community from children to the workplace.
Watch a film clip of Telling Amy’s Story, a true story.
Join the discussion on appropriate action and response.
Thursday, April 14th, 2011
2:30-5pm
YWCA
Please RSVP ASAP at
Light Refreshments. Networking opportunities.
Guest Panelists:
Moderator: CUNY School
Former NYAWC Board Chair, Professor Donna Lee
CONNECT
Kala Ganesh, Executive Director
Susan Jacob, Director of Programs and Training
New York Asian Women’s Center
NYPD, Chief of Department, DV Unit
Sergeant Kurz
Verizon
Binta Vann-Joseph, Director, External Communications
For more information, contact: 1-888-888-7702
A Special Thank You to Our Cosponsor the YWCA
The New York Asian Women’s Center helps women and their children overcome domestic violence and other forms of abuse by empowering them to govern their own lives. The Center provides a safe haven through multi-lingual support programs and shelter services. In addition, the Center works to raise public awareness about violence against women, advocates for the rights of survivors, and acts as an agent of social change.
Admin: 212-732-0054, Toll-Free Hotline: 1-888-888-7702, Website: www.nyawc.org
DIRECTIONS
Thursday, March 31, 2011
We are in the News! New York Nonprofit Press: “Project Speak Out” Creates Pan-Asian Voice Against Domestic Violence
The New York Nonprofit Press mentions our work in their current newsletter below.
http://nynp.biz/March3011.html
http://nynp.biz/March3011.html
“Project Speak Out” Creates Pan-Asian Voice Against Domestic Violence
Four Asian American domestic violence agencies recently received funding to launch Project Speak Out, the first large-scale pan-Asian community education and domestic violence prevention campaign in New York City. The New York Asian Women’s Center (NYAWC), the lead agency, was awarded a $200,000 matching grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Local funding partners including the Asian American Federation, The Grace and Mercy Foundation, Korean American Community Foundation, Ong Family Foundation and Tiger Baron Foundation have contributed matching grants totaling $150,000 so far.
Distributed over two years, the grants will enable NYAWC and its partners—Garden of Hope, Korean American Family Service Center and Sakhi for South Asian Women—to recruit volunteers from the community to foster attitudinal change about domestic violence and engage in a community-wide movement to stop abusive behavior.
NYAWC estimates that 100,000 Asian women in New York City will be abused by their significant others in their lifetime.
“Because domestic violence is viewed as a private family matter, the community is often silent in response to abuse,” says Tiloma Jayasinghe, Executive Director of Sakhi for South Asian Women. “This perception ends up condoning violence and discouraging women from speaking out or seeking escape. When they do try to seek help, they are often punished with blame, stigma and shame.”
With a combined 72 years of experience and expertise in working with domestic violence survivors, the four agencies will challenge the way in which the Asian American community views and reacts to domestic violence. Project Speak Out will recruit volunteers from within the pan-Asian community to involve groups and individuals in this grassroots initiative. With a shared understanding of the nuances of domestic violence in the Asian culture, this network of activists will send a clear message that violence against their mothers, sisters and daughters will not be tolerated. Project Speak Out will also inform survivors of their rights and available assistance and encourage them to seek help.
“Project Speak Out is an extraordinary program made possible by extraordinarily visionary funders,” says NYAWC Executive Director Larry Lee. “Through this initiative we will be able to prevent and reduce domestic violence and give hope to abused women and their children. Together, four Asian domestic violence agencies will make a concentrated, coordinated effort to encourage our many Asian communities to lend their voice to often silent victims. And, by speaking out, members of our communities will reinforce Asian traditions of non-violence and respect for and protection of all family members.”
To volunteer for Project Speak Out, please contact NYAWC’s Project Speak Out Manager at jarifa@nyawc.org or 212-732-0054 ext 163. For more information about NYAWC’s services for women, please call its 24/7 toll-free multilingual hotline at 1-888-888-7702.
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
The Reasons Men Abuse: CONNECT Training on Domestic Violence
On March 25, I joined Ted Kang, my Project Speak Out team partner from Korean American Family Services Center at the CONNECT course on “Understanding Domestic Violence: Essentials and Intersections.” We will be at the training for the next three weeks.
It was great to see the packed room for the training: there were about 30 attendees, including us. The only thing I hoped were different was the gender ratio – there were only two men taking the course, including Ted. My disappointment was somewhat lifted to find that two of the three trainers were men.
During the course of the training, we were reminded during a documentary presentation by Jackson Katz why men MUST get involved in the anti-domestic violence field for any changes to happen. It seems counter-intuitive to make domestic violence an issue for the majority of victims – women – when we should be targeting the majority of perpetrators – men. Here are some U.S. Department of Justice statistics to remind us why:
• Men perpetrate the majority of violent acts against women: about 90%
• 1 in 4 men will abuse their partner
• Over 95% sexual perpetrators are men
• In 92% of all domestic violence incidents, crimes are committed by men against women
• Annually, compared to males, females experience over 10 times as many incidents of violence by an intimate partner
• Men will rape 1 out of 6 women and commit more than 300,000 acts of rape and sexual assault every year
Katz points out why it is not man-hating to discuss the majority of perpetrators of violence – men.
• 76% of the violence men commit is against other men
• Men commit 90% of all violence – whether directed toward other men or women
The trainers discussed our patriarchal culture being responsible for men’s violence. Our misogynistic culture harms both men and women, with a narrative that sees men as violent, unemotional, sex-crazed brutes who cannot help but harm women. It denies men the intelligence they possess, making it acceptable for them to be violent toward others and themselves. Trainer Quentin Walcott demonstrated this idea well when citing how he broke his rib cages while playing football. When he was first injured and thought of sitting on the bench, before breaking his bones, he remembered his mother’s voice telling him to “man up” as a child. If our patriarchal culture did not intervene, he would not have had to endure the broken bones.
During one of our exercises, we were asked to list all the different reasons men abuse. Everything from alcohol abuse to jealousy to mental problems was listed. At the end of the exercise, the trainers told us the single reason why men abuse – they choose to. Most of those men do not hit their co-workers or other people in their lives when they get angry. They use anger as an excuse to hit women because they know they can get away with it. This is exactly why sending abusers to anger management classes does not help – they know exactly how to control their anger. They use anger as a tool to control their partners; sending men to anger management makes them only more cunning.
There were many more interesting topics brought up during the course of the day. Some of my tweets from the day are below:
• Just had a passionate debate wi domestic violence advocates RE spanking. Some say its ok #VAW #IPV
• Flaming faggot comes from burning men during witch burnings who supported the women considered witches #fem2 #VAW
• 1 way dominant group stays in power is by not being discussed: when we discuss race we think minority races but not white
• Quentin Walker talks RE crying when he broke his ribs "what is this water coming out of my eyes?" male #fem2
• NYC schools receive funding based on number of kids on medication, making them push meds on kids #fem2 #edu
• Having difficulty doing exercise on why men abuse. Its because someone CHOOSES to #VAW #IPV #DV
• A woman just protested to being vilified 4 crimes of past racist whites & wants us to just move on #racism
• Origin of word Hispanic=his+panic. GOP came up wi term instead of Latino to discuss Spain origin instead of own nation
• 2 men & 25 women @ CONNECT NYC training RE domestic violence. Plus 2 men & 1 woman trainer. We need more male #fem2 #VAW
• At the CONNECT NYC training on domestic violence for my job @ProjectSpeakOut. Only 20% victims report #VAW #DV #IPV
New York
It was great to see the packed room for the training: there were about 30 attendees, including us. The only thing I hoped were different was the gender ratio – there were only two men taking the course, including Ted. My disappointment was somewhat lifted to find that two of the three trainers were men.
During the course of the training, we were reminded during a documentary presentation by Jackson Katz why men MUST get involved in the anti-domestic violence field for any changes to happen. It seems counter-intuitive to make domestic violence an issue for the majority of victims – women – when we should be targeting the majority of perpetrators – men. Here are some U.S. Department of Justice statistics to remind us why:
• Men perpetrate the majority of violent acts against women: about 90%
• 1 in 4 men will abuse their partner
• Over 95% sexual perpetrators are men
• In 92% of all domestic violence incidents, crimes are committed by men against women
• Annually, compared to males, females experience over 10 times as many incidents of violence by an intimate partner
• Men will rape 1 out of 6 women and commit more than 300,000 acts of rape and sexual assault every year
Katz points out why it is not man-hating to discuss the majority of perpetrators of violence – men.
• 76% of the violence men commit is against other men
• Men commit 90% of all violence – whether directed toward other men or women
The trainers discussed our patriarchal culture being responsible for men’s violence. Our misogynistic culture harms both men and women, with a narrative that sees men as violent, unemotional, sex-crazed brutes who cannot help but harm women. It denies men the intelligence they possess, making it acceptable for them to be violent toward others and themselves. Trainer Quentin Walcott demonstrated this idea well when citing how he broke his rib cages while playing football. When he was first injured and thought of sitting on the bench, before breaking his bones, he remembered his mother’s voice telling him to “man up” as a child. If our patriarchal culture did not intervene, he would not have had to endure the broken bones.
During one of our exercises, we were asked to list all the different reasons men abuse. Everything from alcohol abuse to jealousy to mental problems was listed. At the end of the exercise, the trainers told us the single reason why men abuse – they choose to. Most of those men do not hit their co-workers or other people in their lives when they get angry. They use anger as an excuse to hit women because they know they can get away with it. This is exactly why sending abusers to anger management classes does not help – they know exactly how to control their anger. They use anger as a tool to control their partners; sending men to anger management makes them only more cunning.
There were many more interesting topics brought up during the course of the day. Some of my tweets from the day are below:
• Just had a passionate debate wi domestic violence advocates RE spanking. Some say its ok #VAW #IPV
• Flaming faggot comes from burning men during witch burnings who supported the women considered witches #fem2 #VAW
• 1 way dominant group stays in power is by not being discussed: when we discuss race we think minority races but not white
• Quentin Walker talks RE crying when he broke his ribs "what is this water coming out of my eyes?" male #fem2
• NYC schools receive funding based on number of kids on medication, making them push meds on kids #fem2 #edu
• Having difficulty doing exercise on why men abuse. Its because someone CHOOSES to #VAW #IPV #DV
• A woman just protested to being vilified 4 crimes of past racist whites & wants us to just move on #racism
• Origin of word Hispanic=his+panic. GOP came up wi term instead of Latino to discuss Spain origin instead of own nation
• 2 men & 25 women @ CONNECT NYC training RE domestic violence. Plus 2 men & 1 woman trainer. We need more male #fem2 #VAW
• At the CONNECT NYC training on domestic violence for my job @ProjectSpeakOut. Only 20% victims report #VAW #DV #IPV
Sincerely,
N. Jerin Arifa
Project Speak Out Team
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
New York Budget Cuts - Hurting Already Disadvantaged Women!
As if it wasn't challenging and painful enough to be a low-income, immigrant woman in New York City!
The New York Women's Foundation released a report on March 23rd, that assesses the impact proposed budget cuts in NYC which found that
"low–income women in New York City bear a disproportionate burden in Governor Cuomo’s proposed budget. As such, they are placed at even greater risk of entrenched poverty, physical, emotional and sexual violence, poor health and other factors that contribute to long–term economic stagnation. Many of the proposed budget cuts disproportionately affect single mother heads of households and women holding lower–paying jobs in the public and nonprofit sectors"
See the gender budget analysis here: http://bit.ly/fStVwZ
Sethu Nair
Project Speak Out Team
Sakhi for South Asian Women
The New York Women's Foundation released a report on March 23rd, that assesses the impact proposed budget cuts in NYC which found that
"low–income women in New York City bear a disproportionate burden in Governor Cuomo’s proposed budget. As such, they are placed at even greater risk of entrenched poverty, physical, emotional and sexual violence, poor health and other factors that contribute to long–term economic stagnation. Many of the proposed budget cuts disproportionately affect single mother heads of households and women holding lower–paying jobs in the public and nonprofit sectors"
See the gender budget analysis here: http://bit.ly/fStVwZ
Sethu Nair
Project Speak Out Team
Sakhi for South Asian Women
Activism Works! TANF Funding Restored: Call Gov Cuomo to Restore the Work Advantage Program, Also
Thanks to every one of you who called, visited your New York State Senator and Assembly member, and took other actions to restore the TANF Funding to help Domestic Violence victims and others. Although Governor Cuomo's budget proposed complete elimination of this program, your activism resulted in the New York State Senate and Assembly restoring the funding.
However, the battle is not over. Even though New York City is agreeing to back efforts to restore the Work Advantage Program (WAP), which helps Domestic Violence Victims obtain housing after leaving shelters, Governor Cuomo is still reluctant to restore funding. Please call his office at (518) 474-8390 and ask for restoration of funding for WAP. Right now, calling him rather than other legislators is the best tactic.
Here are some talking points:
Effective, stable permanent housing programs are more cost effective than prolonged shelter stays. Eliminating funding for Advantage would have terrible consequences for tenants and landlords destabilizing communities and families. It would cost enormous sums in shelter expenses, eviction costs, loss of rental income for landlords and more importantly would devastate families, creating long-term negative impact and cost.
Please distribute widely.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
N. Jerin Arifa
Project Speak Out Manager
New York Asian Women's Center (NYAWC)
However, the battle is not over. Even though New York City is agreeing to back efforts to restore the Work Advantage Program (WAP), which helps Domestic Violence Victims obtain housing after leaving shelters, Governor Cuomo is still reluctant to restore funding. Please call his office at (518) 474-8390 and ask for restoration of funding for WAP. Right now, calling him rather than other legislators is the best tactic.
Here are some talking points:
- We need the State to fund Advantage for existing tenants to avoid mass evictions and homelessness
- We need the State to fund some form of Advantage for current shelter residents to provide a realistic re-housing option – an improved Advantage would include flexibility on time limits, and meaningful access to services and education among other reforms. What we need is for folks in the City and State to come together to discuss the options and broker a compromise.
- We agree that the City should utilize federal resources for the homeless and make reforms to Advantage to make it work better and are asking them to do so
- Encourage support for a tax surcharge with an extra 1% for individuals making over $200,000 or families making over $300,000 with a bump to 2% for incomes over $500,000
Effective, stable permanent housing programs are more cost effective than prolonged shelter stays. Eliminating funding for Advantage would have terrible consequences for tenants and landlords destabilizing communities and families. It would cost enormous sums in shelter expenses, eviction costs, loss of rental income for landlords and more importantly would devastate families, creating long-term negative impact and cost.
Please distribute widely.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
N. Jerin Arifa
Project Speak Out Manager
New York Asian Women's Center (NYAWC)
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