For Immediate Release: August 19, 2022
Contact: media@napawf.org
WASHINGTON D.C. – NAPAWF applauds the White House’s announcement to host the United We Stand Summit in an effort to counter hate-fueled violence, prevent radicalization and mobilization to violence, and foster unity.
NAPAWF appreciates President Biden’s recognition of the need to discuss and address hate-fueled violence.
“Violence has been rising in our community over the last few years in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic and increasing political extremism,” says Isra Pananon Weeks, Interim Executive Director and Chief of Staff of the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF). “This violence has disproportionately impacted AAPI women, who are twice as likely to have reported incidents of discrimination. We are heartened by President Biden’s actions to address hate-fueled violence and will continue to advocate that our community and others most impacted by growing violence are centered in the strategies to address this critical issue.”
According to NAPAWF’s recent report, The State of Safety for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Women, AAPI communities experienced a staggering 339% increase in hate crimes in the last year. 74% of AAPI women reported experiencing racism and/or discrimination over the prior year and almost 40% experienced sexual harassment, with Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women reporting greater rates (52%) of sexual harassment than their peers of other Asian ethnicities. Gender-based violence against AAPI communities has been rising at alarming rates, with particular fear of violence being sparked among frontline, retail, restaurant, and personal care workers, jobs that are disproportionately held by AAPI women.
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The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) is the only multi-issue, progressive, community organizing and policy advocacy organization for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women and girls in the U.S. NAPAWF’s mission is to build collective power so that all AAPI women and girls can have full agency over our lives, our families, and our communities.