Prevention Justice Partnership with SeaQuel: Launching a National Network of LBGT Southeast Asians

By Julie Davids

SeaQuel (Southeast Asian Queers United for Empowerment and Leadership) was founded by young activists in 2004 in Providence, Rhode Island. This vibrant community group of lesbian, gay, bisexual, straight and/or transgender youth of Southeast Asian descent and their allies are fighting to end sexual and gender oppression in and beyond southern New England.

CHAMP is working with SeaQuel as a 2008-2009 Prevention Justice Partner, as they launch a national network of LBGT Southeast Asians. Gay community mobilization is a key strategy for HIV prevention justice, breaking down isolation and providing pathways for people to access health care and HIV prevention resources. The national network will connect queer Southeast Asians through online networking, community building activities and social events, and community organizing projects.

There’s reason to be concerned about the rates of HIV among queer Southeast Asians. For example, public health officials in Massachusetts have confirmed that HIV rates among Asians and Pacific Islanders are on the rise – with immigrants, refugees, and members of the Southeast Asian and South Asian communities the hardest hit.

In the 1980s, tens of thousands of Southeast Asian (SEA) refugees fled the war-torn countries of Southeast Asia. Laotian, Hmong, and Cambodian refugees resettled in Providence (a designated refugee resettlement area). The refugees face many barriers to establishing a community that is resilient against HIV/AIDS and other public health challenges. These barriers include:

• Low-wage, under-the-table work and unemployment putting many families in poverty;
• Racism and prejudice from established communities;
• High rates of mental illness stemming from experiences in war and genocide--in particular, high rates of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among the elders. Studies examining mental health status across all SEA groups show that 70% suffer from post-traumatic stress and that three out of four suffer from clinical depression;
• Cultural and linguistic barriers between Southeast Asian elders and their American-born children, leading to a wide "generation gap"; and
• Immigration policies that have led to the detention and deportation of community members, and that have made others leery of accessing public services.

The issues faced by LGBT SEA youth can lead to marginalization, violence and other factors that place them vulnerable to HIV:

• A homophobic youth culture, exacerbated by the domination of male chauvinistic gangs;
• Heterosexist traditions in SEA families (specifically a tradition of arranged marriage coupled with the financial pressure to marry women and men in Cambodia in exchange for money);
• Lack of words and ways to communicate in SEA language about issues of sexuality and gender;
• Lack of visible queer SEA role models;
• Prejudice, racism and/or ignorance about the SEA community in predominately white LGBT communities;
• Lack of cultural awareness and diversity among LGBT political organizations;
• Drugs and alcohol dominating LGBT youth culture and dance clubs; and
• A culture of discrimination (chauvinism) and competition that can plague LGBT culture, keeping the queer SEA community divided, in opposition, and in conflict with each other.

It was out of this intersection--between a very homophobic and gang-influenced youth culture, the heterosexist traditions of the elders, and the biases of mainstream LGBT communities--that a new alternative generation of LGBT or "kathuy" SEA youth is emerging. "Kathuy" is the only word used in both Khmer and Laotian languages to describe a person who is LGBT. It is derogatory, but has been reclaimed by many LGBT SEA youth, similar to the reclamation of the term "queer."

Through this Prevention Justice Partnership, CHAMP is supporting seaQuel’s young leaders in developing a strategic plan for their national network, creating materials and a communication plan, and linking the network to local, national and international campaigns for LGBT rights and HIV prevention justice.