Domestic Violence and Hate Crimes Among South Asian Americans

Domestic violence and hate crimes are important yet understudied health issues within the South Asian community in the US. Data on domestic violence and hate crimes was collected as part of a needs assessment conducted with 344 South Asian adults living in Southern California. Due to the sensitive nature of these questions and varying community venues where the study was conducted, only a subset of respondents were posed questions about hate crimes (n = 280) and domestic violence (n = 97).

Half of the sample (52%) reported that they knew a victim of domestic violence within the South Asian community. Among individuals who knew a victim, 90% reported that they knew the victim during the time of abuse, 83% reported that the victim was physically hurt, and 86% reported that children were present at the time of the abuse. Only 20% reported that the victim went to a domestic violence shelter, whereas 47% said that the victim sought medical attention.

One in five (20%) South Asians reported that they knew a victim of a hate crime. The most commonly reported hate crimes were assault (50%), threats of violence (22%), vandalism (9%), and rape (9%).

Although preliminary, these data suggest domestic violence and hate crimes represent significant health threats to the South Asian community and are consistent with anecdotal evidence and community concerns. Furthermore, these findings underscore the importance of addressing the issues of domestic violence and hate crimes among South Asian Americans in service delivery and program planning efforts.