Gender-Based Violence

A 2021 study of South Asians (n=468) across 50 U.S. states found that:

• 48% of South Asians in the US experience physical violence¹

• 38% of South Asians in the US experience emotional abuse¹

• 35% of South Asians in the US experience economic abuse¹

• 26% of South Asians in the US experience immigration-related abuse¹

• 19% of South Asians in the US experience in-law abuse¹

• 11% of South Asians in the US experience sexual abuse¹

Source: Source: Rai, A., & Choi, Y. J. (2021). Domestic Violence Victimization among South Asian Immigrant Men and Women in the United States. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. https://doi.org/10.1177/08862605211015262

Sexual Abuse & Violence

A 2016 web-based survey of South Asian adults (n=386), born both abroad and in the US found that:

• 25% of survey respondents experienced child sexual abuse²

• 41% of survey respondents witnessed parental violence in their homes²

Source: Robertson, H. A., Chaudhary Nagaraj, N., & Vyas, A. N. (2016). Family Violence and Child Sexual Abuse Among South Asians in the US. Journal of immigrant and minority health, 18(4), 921–927. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-015-0227-8

A recent study of South Asians (n=393) (ages 18 - 34) in the NY State Region found that:

• 85% of participants experienced some form of sexual assault³

Source: Lim, S., Ali, S.H., Mohaimin, S. et al. Help seeking and mental health outcomes among South Asian young adult survivors of sexual violence in the New York State Region. BMC Public Health 22, 1147 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13489-y