Since 1994, VAWA has provided vital funding, programs, resources, and protections for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. For APA women, VAWA has provided funding for culturally competent services, protections for immigrant victims of domestic violence, and support for community-based APA organizations.

VAWA 2005 extends funding for vital domestic violence programs and offers protection to victims of violence.

· APA women have one of the highest domestic violence fatality rates in the nation. According to one study, 18% of women and children killed in domestic violence-related homicides in Massachusetts in 1991 were Asian, although Asians represented only 3% of the state population. VAWA will provide funding for organizations to assist APA women before the violence escalates to homicide.

· One study of South Asian women in heterosexual relationships found that 40% of the participants revealed that they had been sexually or physically abused by their current male partners. VAWA provides funding to culturally appropriate direct service organizations.

· APA women involved in brokered marriages suffer disproportionately high rates of domestic violence. VAWA III includes the International Marriage Broker Regulation Act, which provides foreign women with criminal background information on their potential spouses and information on domestic violence resources. Violence is likely to occur in relationships with a power imbalance, as is often the case with foreign brides (with language and cultural challenges) who marry American citizens.

· As of 2000, 69% of APAs in the United States were foreign born. VAWA III contains several provisions that give both documented and undocumented immigrant victims of domestic violence critical protections.

· One study found that 61% of Japanese immigrant and Japanese American women experienced some form of physical, emotional, or sexual violence that they classified as abusive. VAWA provides funding for programming that will assist community-based organizations implementing preventative programming and community outreach to address domestic violence.

VAWA’s provisions seek to provide economic, legal, and direct service support to immigrant victims and remove the threat of deportation that keeps many locked in abusive relationships. VAWA proposes a comprehensive approach to domestic violence prevention by providing vital funding to organizations, training to law enforcement, and support of community outreach and education. Below are some significant provisions of VAWA, please read the text of the bill to learn more about VAWA III’s important provisions.

· Funds Direct Services for Sexual Assault Victims: Provides vital funding for direct service programs assisting victims of sexual assault.

· Prevents eviction of domestic violence victims: Prevents landlords from evicting victims of domestic violence due to the acts of their abusers. Prevents withdrawal of housing subsidies of victims of domestic violence due to the acts of their abusers.

· Preventative Approach: Funds and supports community programs that promote prevention of violence before it occurs.

· Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services: Provides funding to programs offering culturally and linguistically competent services for communities.

· Includes Teens and Children in Service Provisions: Broadens VAWA’s service provisions to include children and teens.

· Bars Deportation of Victims: Stops the deportation of immigrant victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and trafficking. The Secretary of Homeland Security may grant deferred action to an immigrant victim who has filed a prima facie valid petition as a VAWA self-petitioner or for T or U visas.

· Protects Trafficking Victims’ Family Members: Protects trafficking victims’ family members living abroad and reunites family members by allowing them to receive immigration visas without having to show extreme hardship.

· Protects Child Abuse Victims: Protects child abuse and incest victims by granting them until the age of 25 to file their self-petition nothwithstanding the fact that the child has married.

· Exempts Victims from Sanctions: Exempts victims of domestic abuse, sexual assault, or trafficking from sanctions for failing to voluntarily depart from the country.

· Legal Information to K visa applicants: Has language requiring the Secretary of Homeland Security to provide K visa applicants with information on their legal rights and resources for immigrant victims of domestic violence.

· Learn more about the impact of domestic violence in the APA community: Volunteer with an APA domestic violence agency or refer someone you know who could utilize culturally appropriate services. For more information visit the websites of these APA domestic violence advocacy/prevention/ service organizations:

· Support Asian domestic violence prevention organizations: Support APA DV prevention organizations financially or by contributing your time. Community support helps to sustain these community-based organizations.

· Demand that more research be conducted on Asian women and domestic violence: Demand that current research include Asian women and that the data is disaggregated by ethnic subgroups (to give an accurate illustration of the prevalence of domestic violence in Asian communities). Also advocate for the inclusion of gay, lesbian, and bisexual Asians in these studies. Invisibility is not acceptable when the stakes are so high and the consequences are so harmful for Asian communities.