Op-Ed's

What Student Survivors Taught Me about Reproductive Justice

A Reflection for Sexual Assault Awareness Month, AAPI Heritage Month, and a Time of Growing Threats to Survivor Services

By Eunhee Park

May 2, 2025

“Reproductive Justice is the complete physical, mental, spiritual, political, social, and economic wellbeing of women and girls, based on the full achievement and protection of women’s human rights.”  

Today, the vision of Reproductive Justice feels urgent, more than ever. As news broke that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services cutting sexual assault and rape prevention programs, I am reminded that even the most basic protections for survivors are in jeopardy, especially for communities already navigating racial, cultrual, and immigration-related barriers. As a public health researcher, I’ve spent the past six years listening to the voices of student survivors across the University of California system through multiple research studies. Across the surveys, interviews, and focus group discussions, one truth becomes clear. Survivors know exactly what they need. What they don’t always have is a system that listens and responds. 

Survivors Carry Knowledge and Wounds

In every conversation, I was struck by the emotional weight survivors carried, months or even years after the violence they experienced. One participant, an Asian American student, started to cry just minutes into our conversation. Her experience of violence had happened years ago, but the impact was immediate and raw. Survivors’ vulnerability to share their experience with our research team was not just a recounting of harm. It was a form of resistance, a demand to be seen beyond silence, shame, or stereotypes.  

“Strategies must be derived from consistently listening to the voices of those closest to the ground… ensuring that programming is relevant and sensitive to community conditions and cultural norms.”

Violence, Race, and Culture of Silence

Nearly every participant emphasized that sexual violence didn’t happen in a vacuum. It was entangled with race, gender, cultural experiences, and immigration status. 

• A Korean American survivor described being discouraged by her mother from reporting sexual harassment, framed as “getting unnecessary attention.”

• An international student from India feared her visa would be at risk if she spoke out.

• A mixed-race student from Central Valley California internalized microaggression that affected her self-confidence in a toxic relationship.

For many AAPI and international survivors, the dual tension between family pride and cultural stigma, victim blaming and survivor support, silencing and storytelling, surfaced again and again. 

Not Just Services, it is Justice

These interviews weren’t just data points. They were living testimonies about what reproductive justice must look like. 

• Survivors need mental health services, but they also need culturally affirming care.

• Survivors need space to process their stories, not be flattened into one-size-fits-all models of care.

In a Moment of National Challenge, Asking and Listening Become Resistance

When federal support for sexual violence prevention is being dismantled, survivor voices matter more than ever. Many study participants told me they had never been asked to reflect on how their cultural identity shaped their experience of sexual violence. Several thanked me simply for asking the questions and listening to them. That gratitude is humbling and enraging. It reminds me how often systems fail to even ask, much less listen. 

Reproductive Justice is a Vision

As I reflect during Sexual Assault Awareness Month and AAPI Heritage Month, especially in a moment when institutions and funding for sexual violence prevention and response are under attack, I am reminded that Reproductive Justice is not just a framework, it’s a vision. A vision to fight more boldly for survivors who lie at the intersections of multiple identities, layered vulnerabilities, and profound resilience. 

Survey as a Form of Listening 

Survivors + Allies are calling on the UC and CSU community of students, staff, faculty, and alumni to stand with survivors and take action. To inform future advocacy and accountability efforts, we invite you to participate in a 15-20 minute survey to share your experiences and perceptions of campus resources for sexual violence response. By completing the survey, you are helping ensure that survivor voices lead the way toward systems that are more just, responsive, and survivor-centered. 

Link to the survey: https://cpp.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_cHlmmjWzMAFDKGW