For South Asians, A 'Modern' PSA On Preventing Violence And Guidance On How To Seek Help

South Asian survivors of physical and emotional abuse came together this week in Los Angeles to help make a modern-day public service announcement that breaks stereotypes about violence within their communities.

Filming took place at the Little Bangladesh offices of the South Asian Network, where staff last produced a PSA on domestic violence more than a decade ago and decided it was high time for a fresh, more expansive take.

Since their last ad ran, the umbrella term of gender-based violence has come to encompass domestic violence as well as any violence experienced by people of all genders and gender identities. While typically associated with physical and sexual assault, gender-based violence also shows up as cyberstalking and economic control and can take place in settings such as work or school.

The dozen actors, who answered a casting call issued last month, play a cast of characters that include a queer survivor of violence, traumatized children who witnessed abuse and a woman in her 20s who is the victimizer in a dating relationship.

For some, the motivation is personal

Among the actors are survivors who lived through some of the experiences being depicted on screen.

"Violence can happen to anyone, like it can happen in any household," said Kiran Gupta, who took time out of her day as a grant writer at an anti-human trafficking group to play the role of a caseworker.

Gupta said she was motivated to volunteer for the ad as someone who had experienced verbal and physical abuse at the hands of a domineering father.

Sachini Rajapaksa runs the gender-based violence unit at the South Asian Network and co-directed the ad.

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Josie Huang

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LAist

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"My dad spent a lot of time justifying various behaviors by saying, 'I'm the father,'" said Gupta, who is the oldest of four siblings. "Today, we question what on earth that could mean to justify quite odious, violent behavior in the household."

Survivors of abuse say more help is needed

Advocates for survivors of abuse say they are seeing more cases of gender-based violence, which they partly attribute to greater awareness of the problem among South Asians in the U.S. — a population rapidly growing because of immigration. Indian Americans who identify as single-race now represent the largest Asian American group in the country.

But more people need help than are getting it, said Sachini Rajapaksa, program coordinator of the gender-based violence unit at the South Asian Network, which wanted to create a "modern take" on the issue with the new PSA.

"Growing up, I also saw abuse in my home," said Rajapaksa, who co-directed the ad. "So I know what it's like to be in a community where we're shunning this issue or we're not giving the attention that this deserves."

To hit home with more people within the diverse diaspora, the actors in the ad speak five languages: English, Bangala, Hindi, Sinhala and Urdu.

"I mean, there's thousands of languages, thousands of religions and cultures that we can't put into this PSA, but we can at least put five," said Rajapaksa who herself speaks Sinhala.

Understanding the underpinnings of the crisis

Since the South Asian Network released its last PSA on violence prevention 13 years ago, people's understanding of gender-based violence has grown as more community organizations prioritize the issue and seek out data.

In 2022, the group South Asian SOAR released a report on gender-based violence affecting South Asians in the U.S. and found:

• 48% reported experiencing physical violence
• 38% reported experiencing emotional abuse
• 35% reported experiencing economic abuse

What the different forms of abuse have in common is that they are rooted in societal structures, such as patriarchy or an immigration system, "that almost allow this violence to occur," said Gunindu Abeysekera, who co-authored the report.

Abeysekera, who also co-directed the new PSA, said those who lack citizenship may feel like they cannot freely speak out about being abused.

Gunindu Abeysekera co-directs a new PSA in Little Bangladesh

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Josie Huang

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LAist

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"We're looking at this as more of a systematic issue than an individual issue," Abeysekera said.

The cultural emphasis placed on another institution — marriage — can also lead to violence when spouses are not compatible but stay together, said Saima Shahzad, a 22-year-old college student who volunteered to act in the ad.

“There’s a lot of taboo around divorce or separation,” Shahzad said. “There’s this image that you have to be this perfect family that has status and education but people don’t know what’s happening behind closed doors.”

Getting help

Rajapaksa noted that technology developed since the last time her organization made an ad has abetted abusers.

She said her organization is seeing cases of people being stalked through apps and the use of Apple AirTags — Bluetooth tracking devices that help iPhone owners track their belongings. Victims, Rajapaksa said, are finding AirTags stuck in the hood of a car or wedged above a wheel.

"It's getting to a point where we just tell people, 'You might need a new phone or you just have to go to a mechanic and see if there's an (AirTag) on your car,'" Rajapaksa said.

Survivors who seek help at the South Asian Network will have access to in-language therapy, legal services and help finding shelter, said program manager Riffat Rahman.

Some immigrants, Rahman said, are particularly vulnerable because they may lack language skills, family support, money or immigration status to escape their situation.

"Come to the right place to get help and then break the silence and break the cycle of abuse," Rahman said.

She hopes more people will walk through the doors. The PSA is slated to start running on YouTube in July and, potentially, television channels catering to the South Asian diaspora.

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