National Sexual Assault Conference 2023: How Shame and Silence Were Taught in API Communities

The 2023 National Sexual Assault Conference® was held in San Francisco, California, August 22-24. The conference theme, Equity in Action, called for conference participants to fearlessly pursue a world free from sexual violence and address change across systems and institutions. This session was part of the Prevention track, sponsored by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center with funding from the Centers for Disease Control Prevention. Learn more and access session materials here.

This session engages culturally specific organizations staff, advocate, program staff and leadership to demonstrate learning and experiences of Center for the Pacific Asian Family’s programs implementing intergenerational approach to violence prevention and crisis intervention work.

The relevant experiences addressing the culture of shame and silence, how it has been taught from generation to generation and how it is impacted API communities, including the perspective of the inside out and outside in within the communities will be shared through facilitated with guided and reflective questions with sample activities from the curriculum that CPAF used with youth, adults, parents and caretakers. In addition to the concrete activities, CPAF provides evidence informed research and assessment done in partnership with AAPI Equity Alliance as well with 5 API ethnic specific communities across Los Angeles.

Speakers: Kwan Wimwipha Chaiun, Anna Lee