Cart 0
Cart 0
National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum

Our mission is to build collective power with AAPI women and girls to gain full agency over our lives, our families, and our communities.

 
hero-image-dim-more.jpg

Anti-Asian harassment and violence

We are appalled, devastated, and angry at the violence in Georgia that has taken eight lives, six of whom were Asian American women. We must call this moment what it truly is: white supremacy, anti-Asian racism, sexism, and sexual violence against Asian American women.

Asian American women have consistently reported 2-3 times more incidents of harassment and violence than men. The coronavirus has been weaponized against us to enable even more racialized misogyny but we continue to courageously speak up so our stories are heard and demand that our leaders address racism and violence against us head on.

We need a response to these escalating incidents of harassment and violence that centers Asian American women and elders.

#AAPIWomenStrong: A National Conversation on Race and Gender After the Atlanta Spa Shootings

Pictures of Representative Grace Meng, Ai-jen Poo, Teresa Tran, and Sung Yeon Choimorrow are shown in a row.

Thursday, March 25 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM ET

The six Asian American women who were killed in Atlanta faced specific racialized gendered violence for being Asian women and massage workers. We know firsthand that sexual violence, sexism, and racism are intertwined for Asian American and Pacific Islander women. They have always been a part of our lives — this horrific mass shooting laid bare what we used to face unnoticed.

We want our friends, our neighbors, and our communities to stand with us against racism, misogyny, and hate. Join this conversation to hear more about the identity and experience of Asian American women and learn how to take action in solidarity.

Statement: NAPAWF Responds to Murder of Asian Women in Georgia Spa Shootings

“New polling commissioned by NAPAWF has revealed that nearly half of the Asian American and Pacific Islander women respondents had been affected by anti-Asian racism in the past two years. This comes as no surprise. Even before the pandemic and the racist scapegoating that came in its wake, AAPI women routinely experienced racialized misogyny. Now, our community, and particularly women, elders, and workers with low-wage jobs, are bearing the brunt of continued vilification.”

Read more →

Fighting for Equal Pay for AAPI Women

On March 9, 2021 Asian American and Pacific Islander women’s average earnings will finally catch up to what white, non-Hispanic men made in 2020 for doing the same work. When we look past the average, some AAPI ethnic subgroups, particularly Southeast Asian and Pacific Islander women, experience even bigger wage gaps and don’t catch up until much later in the year.

An AAPI Woman holds a “not your model minority” sign high at a rally.
NAPAWF supporters march in the street at a protest and civil disobedience action against deportations.

The HEAL for Immigrant Women and Families Act

Everyone deserves access to health care, no matter their immigration status. More About the HEAL Act →

We have 14 member-led chapters located across the country — get connected today!

In the News
YES! Magazine, "Support for Families Needs to Be Permanent"

The pandemic didn’t create the impossible conditions facing moms—it only exacerbated them. Mothers of color especially have always been fighting an uphill battle against stagnating wages, rising costs, and with little help from the government.

CBS News, "Prosecutors in spa shootings could be first to weigh Georgia's new hate crime law"

Choimorrow said she finds the assertion that the suspect was not motivated by bias against both race and gender to be "ridiculous."

"[The victims] were murdered not only just because they were Asian-American, not only because they were women, but because they were Asian-American women."

GQ, "Violence Against Asian People Is Quintessentially American"

“Such a big portion of the Asian American women population are in the service sector…in service of other people, whether it’s to help them heal, help them age gracefully, raise their kids, to make [them] look more beautiful, to make [them] feel more comfortable.” I hate that we live in a country where a white man felt it was within his right to end the lives of Asian women as soon as they ceased to serve his purpose.

Arirang News, "Asian communities in solidarity amid alarming uptick of anti-Asian hate crimes"
WBUR, "What The Georgia Shootings Reveal About Anti-Asian Racism In The U.S."

In the United States, we've actually had laws passed that specifically targeted Asian women. Can you tell us about that?

Sung Yeon Choimorrow: “That's correct. It goes way back to 1875 with the passage of the Page Act, which was passed by Congress to really address the concerns that the Chinese American population was growing. And so they decided that if they banned East Asian women from coming into the country, that that would address that issue.”

"The Guardian, 'A new chapter in an old story': what the Atlanta shootings reveal about the US"

After killings that followed a year of escalating hatred, Asian Americans ask why no one heeded the warnings

ABC News, "Atlanta shooting and the legacy of misogyny and racism against Asian women"

Advocates are calling for conversations to unravel harmful stereotypes.

Press Releases
Over 180 National Organizations Urgently Call Biden Administration to Invest in AAPI Women, Establish an Interagency Task Force to Address Anti-Asian Discrimination and Violence

Today, President Biden met with leaders in the Asian American community, including a representative from the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum.

Read More →
National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum Responds to Murder of Asian Women in Georgia Spa Shootings

We are appalled and devastated at the violence in Georgia that has taken eight lives, six of whom were Asian American women. We mourn with the families of these victims. We are horrified and continue to be concerned for the safety of our community members across the country as violence toward Asian Americans has escalated.

Read More →
1,900 Hoosiers Call on Gov. Holcomb to Take Action Against Anti-Asian Racism on One-Year Anniversary of the Pandemic

Today, the Indiana Chapter of NAPAWF delivered 1,900 petition signatures to Governor Holcomb asking him to address the rise in anti-Asian harassment and violence occurring across the state.

Read More →
Featured
Letter to President Biden Calling for Emergency Safety and Relief for Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities

We call on President Biden and Vice President Harris to take immediate action to stem the crisis in anti-Asian violence right now and to commit to extended partnership with the AAPI community for long term safety, recovery and resilience.

Testimony to Congress on Anti-Asian Violence

On March 18, the House Judiciary Committee - Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties is holding a hearing on Asian American Discrimination and Violence. NAPAWF submitted two testimonies.

AAPI Women's Economic Security