The Transforming Silence into Action national gathering [that AWS runs] is a unique and essential space to bring together activists working on addressing these issues. I hope that the working groups continue to happen and that more structures are put in place to support this important work.

— Transforming Silence into Action III Nation Network Particpant

While AWS offers emergency services that meet the immediate needs of survivors, it also acknowledges the need for broader, more long-term strategies for change within our communities. This program area is dedicated to changing values, practices, systems, and policies to promote peaceful, healthy families and communities, free from violence, injustice, and oppression.

The program has three components:

Education

We provide training in a range of settings, including schools, faith communities, workplaces, and cultural events. For example, AWS has provided trainings to a San Francisco public high school group called Young Asian Women Against Violence. Community education, workshops and trainings help participants understand what healthy relationships look like and how to respond when violence happens. Another training involves helping monks at a local Thai temple understand domestic violence so they can provide support and resources to women survivors.

Engaging the Community

AWS addresses long-term solutions to ending domestic violence and creating lasting change through community involvement and supporting grass-roots organizing. For example, AWS’s Japanese Women’s Group developed a Japanese-language booklet to educate women about resources for safety and support, and criminal and legal law systems. AWS’s Queer Asian Women’s Services (QAWS) also organized a series of small gatherings to assess the needs and concerns of Asian Pacific Islander (API) queer survivors of violence. Currently, we are strengthening our participation in grassroots efforts and community-organizing initiatives.

Technical Assistance /Training and Coalition Building

In this area, we share our knowledge and experiences with other organizations in a local, state, national, and international context. A recent project in Japan supported a women’s group as it prepared to organize programs and shelters. In Indonesia, we held dialogues on building a support network to respond to human trafficking. In Thailand, one of our staff members has been on call-in radio programs to educate local women about their options in suffering and escaping domestic violence.

As one of the only shelters with a comprehensive community-buildling component, AWS works hard to reach out to diverse communities, especially those that are underserved and excluded by mainstream domestic-violence shelter programs.