Good evening everyone, my name is Miyoung Kim, Womankind Later in Life Advocate. I am here today with you all to stand in solidarity to fight against domestic violence.
For 39 years, Womankind has supported survivors of gender-based violence, including survivors of domestic violence. We pride ourselves on being able to offer services across the lifespan, with linguistic and cultural humility, to the greater Asian community. Because of the communities we serve, Womankind views domestic violence from a much broader lens than just intimate partner relationships. Much of the violence affecting the survivors we serve come from family members, such as in-laws and grandchildren.
Over the last two years, our communities have had to confront a pandemic and quarantine, heightened economic hardships, and increased hate violence towards AAPI communities. Survivors of domestic violence have been trapped and isolated with their abusers, making it more difficult to seek services. This epidemic of violence cannot be ignored. For decades, we have seen that communities of color have disproportionate exposure to violence in everyday living, creating multigenerational trauma. We must begin to challenge these cycles of violence and name unhealthy relationship dynamics for what they are—abuse.