Research
Research for us, by us. Our movement needs detailed, accurate research that fully represents all Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) conducts research and analyzes data to inform our advocacy for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women and girls. “AAPI” includes over 50 ethnic groups that speak over 100 languages – but rarely do studies fully represent all our communities.
The “model minority” stereotype, the myth that depicts all Asian Americans as having achieved success and wealth, continues to exist in the public imagination. We know that is wrong, and that many among us face injustice and oppression.
Our movement needs detailed, accurate research that fully represents AAPI communities. It is important that data is disaggregated to explore specific information – such as ethnicity, gender, and language – so that we can have a full understanding of the issues facing us. Our research centers our lived experiences through a community-engaged participatory research (CBPR) methodology that builds trust and power with the people we work with.
Published ResearchPublished Research
In Focus: The 2026 National AANHPI Women+’s Survey
In Focus is a new annual study from NAPAWF examining the issues shaping AANHPI women and gender-expansive people nationwide.
This survey comes at a consequential moment for AANHPI communities. Heightened immigration enforcement and uncertainty are affecting families and communities across the country, while rising costs, health care access, and caregiving continue to shape daily life. And with the 2026 midterm elections approaching, understanding the experiences and priorities of AANHPI women is increasingly important to the national conversation.
Beyond the LabelsBeyond the Labels
Beyond the Labels is the largest national, multilingual Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) abortion study of its kind, with groundbreaking qualitative and quantitative findings about how AAPI women across more than 25 ethnicities are thinking about and engaging with abortion rights. Despite the AAPI population being the fastest-growing racial group in the United States, composed of over 24 million individuals from over 50 ethnic groups, AAPI-specific research on abortion remains rare.
Developed with Lake Research Partners and Sprout Insight, this study represents a snapshot of abortion perspectives during the summer and fall of 2025 among AAPI women. These findings reflect the attitudes and knowledge of abortion, barriers that members of the AAPI community face, and the messages that resonate.
Sexual and Reproductive Health Care in the AANHPI Community: Understanding Barriers to Access in Georgia
In partnership with Emory University’s Center for Reproductive Health Research in the Southeast (RISE), this report explores access to sexual and reproductive health (SRH) care and to identify the individual, community, and policy-level barriers that Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) communities face in accessing care. Read more→
Medication Abortion StudyMedication Abortion
This first-of-its-kind study examines Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) experiences with medication abortion to understand how people within AANHPI subgroups may differ in their medication abortion knowledge, attitudes, and experiences.
The State of Safety for Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Women
This groundbreaking survey spotlights Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) women’s experiences with discrimination, harassment, and violence amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and one year since the mass shootings in Atlanta that claimed the lives of six Asian American women.
State of Safety Resources
The Rising Tide of Violence and Discrimination Against Asian American and Pacific Islander Women and Girls
Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women and girls are prime targets of hate and discrimination against the AAPI community. Hate incidents against AAPIs rose sharply over the past year, with over 6,600 reports collected by Stop AAPI Hate between March 2020 and March 2021. In particular, AAPI women and girls report these hate incidents two times as often as AAPI men. We further disaggregate AAPI women’s experiences by different subgroups using data from Stop AAPI Hate and the NAPAWF national survey.