The Intersection:

Gun Violence & Gender-Based Violence

The Statistics

Gender-Based Violence in the South Asian & Asian American Diaspora in the US

41-61% of Asian women across the diaspora have experienced some form of gender based violence in their lifetime.¹
In a 2021 study among South Asian women and men in the US, 48% of individuals violence experienced was physical violence, 38% of South Asians experience emotional abuse, 35% experience economic abuse, 27% experience verbal abuse, 26% experience immigration-related abuse, 19% experience in-laws related abuse, and 11% experience sexual abuse.²

Gender-Based Violence, Mass Shootings, & Gun Violence

In more than 60% (68.2%) of mass shootings, the perpetrator either killed family or intimate partners or had a history of domestic violence.³
A woman is 400% more likely to be killed by an abuser if there is a gun in the home.⁴
70 women, on average, are shot and killed by an intimate partner every month.⁵
Homicide, frequently by a partner, is the leading cause of maternal death during pregnancy and the postpartum period.⁶
Among South Asians in the US, 50% of the individuals lost to gender-based violence in 2022 died due to gun violence or homicide.
States with weak gun laws see higher rates of female gun homicide. States that received an “F” rating in the Giffords Law Center’s 2021 Annual Gun Law Scorecard for their weak gun laws have higher rates of female firearm homicide than states with an “A” rating.⁷
Every 16 hours somewhere in the U.S., a woman is fatally shot by a current or former intimate partner. ⁸
Gun homicides by intimate partners jumped 58% over the last decade, gun homicides involving intimate partners rose 25% in 2020 compared with the previous year, to the highest level in almost three decades.⁹

Understanding the Intersection

Underreporting & Model Minority Stereotypes

Harmful model minority stereotypes play a role in discouraging South Asian survivors from reporting violence or seeking out support. All too often, the needs of the Asian American diaspora are downplayed and overlooked — largely due to the pervasive model minority myth. The nuances and complexities of our communities result in distinct and significant barriers that threaten the physical, mental, emotional, social, and economic health of Asians Americans.¹⁰

Intersection of Gun, Gendered, & Patriarchal Violence

As a collective of South Asian survivors and organizations, our work and lived experiences are at the intersections of these issues — from gun violence to gender-based violence as well as systemic oppression and state-sanctioned violence in this country. The majority of mass shootings are linked to domestic violence. Studies have revealed that misogyny and a history of domestic violence are common links across mass shootings.¹¹ In the context of gender-based violence, guns are frequently used as a tool of power and control, ranging from violent physical attacks to emotional manipulation.¹² These statistics do not exist in a vacuum Black, Indigenous, and Latina women are disproportionately targeted by gender-based violence and gun violence due to interlocking systems of racism and patriarchy.¹³

Violence with the Asian American Community & Lateral Violence

After several years of increasing anti-Asian hate, we may be grasping at understanding of these shootings. Yet, we know that all forms of violence share the same roots and histories of patriarchy, misogyny, and white supremacy. Often, the result of these forms of discrimination and oppression create the conditions for violence within the community, and more specifically—against women, queer, or otherwise marginalized members of a community.

Impacts on South Asian Community

One study in Houston found that 19.5 % of Indian respondents reported experiencing domestic violence that included the use of a knife or gun.¹⁴ While information about gun violence, gender-based violence, and how these two issues intersect within South Asian communities in the US is limited, we know that they impact South Asians in unique ways.