In May, we celebrate Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month, an opportunity to recognize and uplift diverse voices. RAINN believes survivors are not a monolith, and prevention and awareness efforts should encompass a range of experiences, which is why we’re excited to spotlight the unique challenges faced by the LGBTQ+ AANHPI community. Marian Bacol, Founder of Thriver Lifestyle, Spiritual Guide, Mystical Mentor & Muse shares a message to survivors in the AANHPI community.

"Don't let your family and culture shame or guilt you into not speaking your truth. You're here to heal and be a generational cycle breaker."

To address this issue, RAINN collaborates with the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence (API-GBV), a national resource center dedicated to combating domestic violence, sexual violence, trafficking, and other forms of gender-based violence in Asian and Pacific Islander communities. Specifically, the API-GBV provides referrals to queer survivors to other organizations like Community United Against Violence (CUAV), webinars, community-based research reports, and presentations for professionals and community members, and research-based policy proposals.

If you are an AANHPi queer survivor of intimate partner violence or want to advocate for survivors who face multiple layers of marginalization, consider applying to RAINN’s Speaker Bureau, which is made up of nearly 4,000 survivors of sexual violence who volunteer to share their stories.

To speak with a trained support specialist, call the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 800.656.HOPE (4673) or chat online in English at online.rainn.org or in Spanish at RAINN.org/es.