In 1995, Timothy Blackwell murdered his wife, Susanna Remerta Blackwell, her unborn baby, and two of her friends at the King County Courthouse in Seattle. Two weeks after the two had married (through an international matchmaking agency), Susanna had left her husband and sought legal protection for domestic violence. After murders like these, the already very active grassroots Filipino-American community in Seattle started to organize around domestic violence. This was the start of the Asian Pacific Islander Women and Family Safety Center (APIWFSC).
The complexities around domestic violence in the Asian and Pacific Islander (API) community were not being fully addressed in mainstream domestic violence agencies. The language and cultural barriers for API women produced a need for a specialized organization. For API women in domestic violence, sexual assault, international matchmaking relationships, and human trafficking there are issues of stereotypes, exoticism, racism, classism, and sexism to name a few.
There are also the problems of shame, stigma, isolation, and fear attached to domestic violence and trafficking for API women. Domestic violence is not a topic talked about in the API community. What happens in a family stays there and when a woman speaks out there is a huge risk of her community isolating her, shaming her for defacing her husband or partner. Many times, this is because of lack of understanding about the nature of these crimes as well as cultural nuances that range from lack of bilingual/bicultural services and resources to the view that these issues are personal or familial, and are not to be shared with others for fear of reprisals or to "lose face".
Many survivors live in shame, fear, and isolation, not recognizing that they share the experience as many others, and that it is not their fault. These perceptions are supported, generally, by cultures and beliefs that women are the "lesser gender" and that males have the right to mistreat and abuse women.
In some API cultures, arranged marriages and dowry are still practiced, reflecting the belief that women are objects to be bought, sold, and exchanged. Even in cultures where these customs are not being practiced, the belief remains that women are the possession of their family, in-laws, and intimate partners. This belief traps many women in unwanted marriages, unsafe relationships, and places them at risk for emotional and psychological distress, injuries, and death. It is important to not only provide advocacy and support services for survivors but that the community is informed on the issues and is familiarized with the resources that are offered to support victims and families in a culturally and linguistically relevant manner. Ending violence requires a change in societal and cultural values and it is most effective at the community level.
The APIWFSC's mission is to prevent violence against women through community organizing and education; provide safe, culturally relevant services for women, youth, and children; and create housing resources for families who face domestic and sexual violence, and victimization from human trafficking in Asian and Pacific Islander Communities. The goals are to mobilize the API community to work toward ending violence, to provide support for survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and human trafficking, and to bring forth awareness of domestic violence (DV)/sexual assault (SA)/ human trafficking (HT) to influence policies and bring about social change.
Using a community organizing approach, the Safety Center strives to prevent and respond to violence in API communities through case management and community organizing programs, including: API Men's Campaign Against Violence, Youth and Young Adult Outreach and Education, Parenting Classes, Natural Helper Volunteers, Queer Network Project, Trafficking Response Team, and Community Organizing and Advocacy. To ensure success for these programs, the Safety Center works closely with a number of local schools, non-profit agencies, and community centers. In addition to working with community members, the Safety Center also provides training and technical assistance to law enforcement and non-profit agencies, and takes part in a number of coordinated community response teams and coalitions to address DV/SA/HT.
Since 1994 the Social Justice Fund NW awarded the APIWFSC with $48,595.
Most recently, the Social Justice Fund NW is pleased to support the Safety Center with a $10,000 Cultural Grant for their Queer Network project.