How to talk about Asian American gender-based violence

When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out early last year, Asian Americans shared the nation’s concerns over the impact on their physical health. But they also carried a mental health burden, as they were blamed for COVID-19 and saw an escalation in hate crimes and hateful rhetoric linked to the pandemic. Asian Americans have been harassed, assaulted and killed. Even as the nation reopens, anti-Asian hate remains part of the new normal.

The Atlanta spa shooting in March was a high-profile incident that shed light on another struggle with which Asian Americans have been invisibly grappling: gender-based violence.

On May 19 at 6 p.m., Ada Tseng, assistant editor of the L.A. Times utility team, and reporter Agnes Constante will speak to mental health experts and community organizers about Asian American gender-based violence.

The panelists:

• Anjali Alimchandani, PhD, MPP psychologist in private practice, advisory board member of the National Queer and Transgender Therapists of Color Network
• Lian Cheun, executive director of Khmer Girls in Action
• Manjusha Kulkarni, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate and executive director of Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council
• Lacy Lew Nguyen Wright, activist and Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network Speakers Bureau member
  

The webinar is co-hosted by the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism, Viet Rainbow of Orange County and the Cambodian Family. It’s a follow-up to the virtual forum and TimesOC series “Improving Healthcare Access for Cambodians and Vietnamese,” supported by the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism 2020 California Fellowship.

Register for this free event here.