A Plan in Action: Reflecting on the 2023 Peer-to-Peer National ARP Convening
By Umme Kulsoom Arif This past October, I had the privilege of traveling to Washington DC and meeting with Samman Masud, Sahiyo’s Community Engagement Coordinator. Both of us attended the 2023 Peer-to-Peer National American Rescue Plan (ARP) Convening as representatives of Sahiyo, one of over 40 non-profit organizations granted awards as part of the ARP Support for Survivors Program. Without hyperbole, it was magnificent. The work to end gender-based violence in our many communities is a monumental task. There are too many days where I think of it in the same way I think of Sisyphus pushing his boulder up the hill, only to have it roll back down the moment he gets close to completion — neverending. This frustration was echoed in the stories of hardship shared by representatives of the various non-profit organizations seeking to serve and support their communities. And yet, here we are. Pushing that boulder. Doing the work, because the work needs to be done. Culturally specific communities are just that — culturally specific, each one with unique traditions and unique needs. Over the course of the three day conference, speakers emphasized the need to invest in organizations that understand the communities they serve, in providing grassroots organizations the space and financial support they need to do the work that must be done. For Sahiyo, the ARP grant provides the opportunity to expand our annual Activists Retreat, that annual opportunity for survivors and activists to come together for community, companionship, and healing. These retreats serve as an essential part of Sahiyo’s activism—and our self-care. Activism, as I once emphasized before, is work. Occasionally lonely work, as one finds themselves at risk of being ostracized by their communities for speaking up and speaking out. In this way, the ARP grant allows Sahiyo the opportunity to empower survivors and activists by providing retreat attendees the space to talk about their experiences and the tools to educate, to have meaningful conversations in their communities. It is Sisyphean work sometimes — these conversations must happen more than once, the violence cannot be stopped in a single day. As we watch another khatna-related prosecution begin, this time in Texas, I wonder just how many volunteers and activists are waiting to see if the 2018 prosecution in Michigan will repeat itself? To me, the beauty of the 2023 ARP Convening was in the stories, both in sorrow and in triumph. Speakers from the Asian-Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence, Ujima, National Organization of Asians and Pacific Islanders Ending Sexual Violence, and the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center — as well as the sub-grantees of all of these organizations — spoke candidly of how they also struggled when trying to advocate for their communities, about the need for support from government grants that also allowed them to do the work in a manner that worked for them. Most critically, the speakers emphasized the need for advocates to work together to uplift and support other non-profit organizations. There is still a lot of work to be done to end gender-based violence, both in acknowledging its existence in various communities and in changing the cultural mores that perpetuate it. The hill we climb feels steep, but the boulder we push up that hill is not one we have to shoulder alone. I look forward to the day we best Sisyphus and crest that hill, for a future free from violence. If not for me, then for those who will live in the world I leave behind.
My time at the 2023 Peer-to-Peer National ARP Convening
In October 2023, Sahiyo’s Community Engagement Coordinator Samman Masud as well as long-time Sahiyo volunteer and Activists Retreat planning committee member Umme Kulsoom Arif attended the 2023 Peer-to-Peer National American Rescue Plan (ARP) Convening in Washington D.C. The three-day convention welcomed representatives from over 40 non-profit organizations throughout the U.S. to join other grantees of the ARP Support for Survivors Program. Sahiyo U.S. was awarded as one of the subgrantees in April 2023 to build out its promising Activists Retreat program. A sub-grant under the 2021 American Rescue Plan Grant, the ARP Support for Survivors Program caters to culturally-specific, community-based projects for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault from Asian and Pacific Islander (API) Communities in the U.S. and the Pacific. Leadership from various organizations led plenary sessions to address accomplishments and challenges involved in survivor-centered relief work for under-served and underrepresented communities of color impacted by gender-based violence. In addition to attending presentations and workshops, Sahiyo representatives received opportunities to network with other organizations through a variety of events including a cultural evening, an interactive Indian dance performance, a Paraguayan bottle dance, and a Native American closing ceremony to conclude the gathering. “The ARP convention was an eye-opening experience. I listened to speakers from the National Indigenous Women’s Resource Center, the Asian Pacific Institute on Gender-Based Violence, SCESA, and Ujima, among many others. I understood the impact of investment in organizations that seek to address the very unique needs of communities of color impacted by gender-based violence. Already vulnerable due to the intersecting systems of violence and power structures that continue to marginalize communities of color in the U.S., survivors often need culturally sensitive approaches to address domestic violence, sexual abuse, and female genital cutting (FGC). To hear the accomplishments and challenges of groups engaged in this work revealed the potential of grassroots level advocacy and community-led organizations. While there is a lot of work to be done in the gender-based violence space, the feminist solidarity I saw at the convention gave me immense hope about what this growing network can achieve: a future free from violence for all people.” -Samman Masud
SAHIYO JOINS OVER 40 COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS SERVING SEXUAL ASSAULT AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE SURVIVORS IN $13.2 MILLION AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN INITIATIVE
ARP Support for Survivors Program supports culturally-specific, community-based projects supporting survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault from Asian and Pacific Islander Communities in the United States and the Pacific. Sahiyo U.S. will be joining over 40 organizations, both nationally and locally, in an effort to provide culturally-specific, community-based support for survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault from Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities across the U.S. and Pacific. The $13.2 million dollar initiative from the Family Violence Prevention and Services Act (FVPSA) under the 2021 American Rescue Plan (ARP) will be will be the first time API-GBV will be distributing two years of funding to culturally specific organizations that serve sexual assault and domestic violence survivors in AAPI communities; this includes survivors of female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C), marking huge progress that this harmful practice is being recognized as a form of sexual assault. Under the ARP Support for Survivors Program, subgrants will be distributed through the Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Capacity Building Fund to assist organizations like Sahiyo U.S. to provide services for survivors of gender-based violence in Asian/Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Pacific Islander (AANHPI), and Middle Eastern (ME) communities in the United States and U.S. territories. “Sahiyo U.S. is honored to be included as one of the 40+ organizations awarded this grant. For too long the issue of female genital cutting has been viewed as a cultural issue, this grant helps to affirm that FGM/C is a form of gender-based violence and is a form of sexual assault that impacts individuals from AAPI communities as well. For years, Sahiyo has heard stories from FGM/C survivors from these communities and we have sought to support them in sharing their experiences and connecting with one another to collectively heal, and band together to prevent the next generation from undergoing this form of harm.” ~ Mariya Taher, Sahiyo Co-Founder & U.S. Executive Director The ARP Support for Survivors Program will address the emergent needs of survivors, and the programs that serve them, resulting from the COVID-19 public health emergency. The work will also promote strategic partnership development and collaboration in responding to the COVID-19 public health emergency on survivors of gender-based violence. “API-GBV is honored and proud to welcome organizations like Sahiyo U.S. who are at the forefront of sexual assault and dometic violence work amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It is essential to have this kind of funding distributed to communities with organizations deeply rooted in their environmental and cultural awareness and expertise in supporting survivors. The AAPI community is often left out of the public narrative on sexual assault and domestic violence and through this important work we will have the opportunity to support organizations who directly support survivors in our communities.” ~ Monica Khant, Executive Director of API-GBV Sahiyo U.S. was selected by a committee of peer reviewers with extensive experience in the domestic violence and sexual assault fields, and working in AANHPI and ME communities in the U.S. Funding provided under the ARP Support for Survivors grant will advance our survivor and community-based Activists Retreat program. The expanded program will help to further strengthen relationships and networks among survivors and impacted community members who need a supportive structure, but who are often geographically distant from one another. The program will also allow for best practices and tools to be shared not only during the workshops, but throughout the year. As a result, FGM/C survivors and impacted community members are able to enhance their own well-being and enhance skills to more effectively raise awareness in their respective communities about the need to end this harmful form of sexual assault. Sahiyo U.S. is among 15 organizations serving AANHPI communities and 14 organizations serving ME communities, including projects focused on prevention, culturally specific services for Queer and Trans survivors, virtual services and data security, culturally rooted practices in healing and resiliency, and engaging men and youth. For a complete list of grantees, visit this link.