COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

The Youth Peer Advocate Leadership Internship offers an optional internship where participants work together to develop and implement a project that addresses issues of domestic & sexual violence within the community. The YPAL Internship takes place after the summer session of YPAL training from late July to early August and is only eligible for those who have completed YPAL training. Participants are eligible to receive service hours or a stipend upon completion of the internship.

Within Asian American communities, religious institutions hold great importance in the lives of many individuals. These institutions not only provide spaces for spiritual growth but also serve as community hubs where friendship, resources and support can be found. Consequently, it is crucial for us to collaborate with these institutions to achieve the following objectives:

• Foster allyship with faith leaders, lay leaders, and congregants to actively contribute to the movement to end domestic & sexual violence.

• Empower faith community members with the necessary knowledge and tools to support survivors and challenge victim-blaming attitudes and other harmful norms that perpetuate violence.

• Engage faith community members and cultivate their leadership abilities to make substantial, long-term contributions to the prevention of domestic & sexual violence, thereby facilitating lasting change.

By partnering with faith-based organizations, KAN-WIN aims to leverage their influence and reach within the community to promote awareness, education, and action against domestic & sexual violence. Through collaboration, we can work towards a vision of healthy and safe communities free of violence and abuse.

The Multilingual Advocacy Program (MAP) at KAN-WIN works to increase access to services for limited English proficient survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, and human trafficking with a focus on East and Southeast Asian communities.

Community Advocates act as a liaison to:

• Promote awareness of domestic & sexual violence issues & KAN-WIN’s services to the community;

• Engage the community in a culturally & linguistically significant manner to build connections and grassroots leadership; and

• Provide direct support to survivors by collaborating with the Direct Services team.

KAN-WIN engages in “comfort women” advocacy through education, art, and coalition building. We know that to truly create conditions for a world free of exploitation, we must shift from our current culture of silencing and distrust of survivors. At the same time, multiple systems of power uphold this culture to be the dominant response to survivorship and violence. When “comfort women” survivors fight for their justice, they are building a future free of violence for all. Their fight then is our fight.

Learn more about our “comfort women” advocacy efforts.

KAN-WIN is a member of the Illinois Language Justice Coalition, a coalition made up of community-based organizations that serve, organize, and work with community members whose primary/first language is not English. The goal of the Coalition is to grow a diverse base of directly impacted leaders who develop grassroots model policy to improve language access in Chicago and Illinois.

Asian Americans have long contributed to the movement to end domestic violence and sexual assault. We created a timeline of such efforts with the intent of filling the gap in the archive of the anti-violence movement(s) which frequently leaves out the stories and narratives of cross-cultural communities, but we do not claim that this is a fully comprehensive overview of the role that Asian Americans have played in the work to end domestic & sexual violence. We hope that this can serve as an important learning tool and a starting point for uncovering more of the stories and voices of Asian Americans in history.

KAN-WIN acknowledges the legacy and lasting impact of Black, Latinx, and Indigenous advocates throughout history who have created the frameworks and contexts for doing significant anti-violence prevention and advocacy work. Without their contributions, it would not be possible for many of the Asian American advocates, politicians, and community organizations listed in this timeline to accomplish what they were able to. We thank the advocates who worked tirelessly before us to shed light on the unique obstacles faced by alienated survivors and their ingenuity in crafting solutions that address the specific challenges faced by underserved communities, and who fought to provide space for more diverse voices to be heard within the movements to end domestic & sexual violence.

View Timeline