Asian survivors of sexual violence detail struggles

Warning: This story discusses sexual violence.

Dozens gathered at the University of Auckland on Thursday for the launch of a ground-breaking report that highlights the challenges facing Asian survivors of sexual violence.

Titled Asian Sexual Violence Survivors' Experiences and Expectations of Support within Schools in New Zealand, the report details survivors' lived experiences and their expectations of support within schools.

Funded by the Lottery Grant Board's Health Research post-doctoral fellowship, the two-year study included interviews with seven young Asian survivors of sexual violence, six educators and school counsellors, and one caregiver.

Participants drawn from New Zealand's secondary and tertiary institutions claimed Indian, Chinese, South Korean, Filipino or Pakistani heritage.

Lead researcher Ying Wang, a research fellow at the University of Auckland's Centre for Arts and Social Transformation, said the experiences of Asian sexual violence survivors remained unexplored despite Asian ethnic groups comprising 17.3 percent of New Zealand's total population.

"I believe addressing this gap is crucial for fostering inclusivity and equity within New Zealand society," Wang said.

She said the needs of young Asian survivors were often neglected due to cultural and systemic invisibility within the Asian community.

"For example, our Asian community often has the concept of being a 'model minority,'" she said. "This can mask vulnerabilities like sexual violence and turn that into a more hidden issue."

Wang focused on young Asian survivors of sexual violence aged 16 to 24 for the study because they were at a higher risk of being sexually assaulted.

"This age group - not just among Asians but across all populations - is four times more likely to be sexually assaulted than other age groups," she said.

Wang said strongly delineated gender roles in Asian societies, pressure to be a "model minority" in a New Zealand cultural setting, advice to "just move on" and feeling burdened by blame all conspired to create the sense that survivors needed to suffer in silence.

"For some Asian cultures, the gender role really impacts on young people's [perspectives]," she said. "One participant said she had experienced dating violence in a relationship for a long time, but didn't realize that was actually a form of sexual violence.

"The reason for that was her own mother - her caregiver and a first-generation immigrant - had also suffered this kind of violence in a relationship.

"Because of this modeling from her parents, she thought that it was a woman's duty to have sex with men, regardless of consent or not."

She said New Zealand schools play a crucial role in supporting young survivors, stressing the need to enhance cultural competence in terms of sexuality education.

"We have sexuality education [in schools]," she said. "But it's not culturally responsive, it's a one-size-fits-all."

Teachers at schools nationwide needed additional support when tackling this issue, she said.

"They need some knowledge," she said. "They needed to know what is needed to be culturally competent, culturally sensitive and culturally responsive for these young people, and how to engage with their caregivers."

Kelly Feng, chief executive at Asian Family Services, chaired the panel discussion with experts on sexual violence prevention and trauma-informed care.

Feng highlighted the importance of tailored cultural competence training, culturally sensitive support and relevant education for caregivers and school educators.

"There's a lack of culturally and linguistic appropriate services," she said. "People really can't find any support system in place when they really need it."

She drew attention to challenges in cultural competency among school staff, noting that "there's no proper support system in place to address these issues effectively".

"I would emphasize there's a continuum of care from raising awareness and breaking that shame stigma," she said. "But it's also about offering proper workshops for caregivers, educators and schools to be more culturally competent, [so they] know how to deal with those issues."

Feng called on the government to allocate more resources for the country's growing Asian population, emphasizing the need to break down barriers faced by Asian survivors of sexual violence, particularly in schools and local communities.

Debbi Tohill, executive director at Rape Prevention Education, said it was important to have culturally tailored role models in schools.

"It's really important that our young people can see themselves in the person who is educating them," she said.

Tohill's organization provided cultural training for its workforce to ensure that educators working in schools delivered more culturally sensitive support services.

"We also do a lot of preparation before we go into the classroom with the teachers and the counselling staff to make sure that we know what's going on in the school," she said.

Registered psychologist Sehar Moughal urged New Zealand's health system to provide affordable, accessible and appropriate services for Asian survivors of sexual violence.

"If that's not happening, then there's no healing," Moughal said.

Moughal said survivors risked re-victimization if they failed to receive proper support.

In some cases, survivors might even perpetuate violence against others, she said.

Ethnic Communities Minister Melissa Lee called for greater sexuality education in Asian communities, highlighting the role that cultural and language barriers play in preventing victims from seeking help.

Lee urged educators and caregivers to take a more proactive role to support victims and reduce the risk of harm.

"A lot of people are entrenched in their culture and tradition, and often that can be a barrier for victims to come forward because they feel shame," she said. "Family, adults and educators need to be more cognizant of how we support victims and also to make sure that victimization doesn't happen in the first place."

Where to get help:

• NZ Police
• Victim Support 0800 842 846 Rape Crisis 0800 88 33 00
• Rape Prevention Education
• Empowerment Trust
• HELP Call 24/7 (Auckland): 09 623 1700, (Wellington): 04 801 6655 - push 0 at the menu
• Safe to talk: a 24/7 confidential helpline for survivors, support people and those with harmful sexual behaviour: 0800 044 334
• Male Survivors Aotearoa
• Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) 022 344 0496