On-Campus Victim Services
Monsoon’s campus work has been strengthened under the leadership of Hieu Pham, who has been assisted by campus advocates in Iowa City and Des Moines. Besides campus outreach and education, the team has also provided direct services. In addition, the team has compiled a list of organizations in Asia, West Asia, and the Pacific that serve victims/survivors of gender-based violence because many victims request services even after they return to their home countries. This list can be accessed at Monsoon’s International Resource Project. The team also created a WeChat account to help communicate confidentially with Chinese students seeking services or information. The University of Iowa’s partnership with Monsoon has been one of the most beneficial practices in our campus work. Overall, the campus team’s outreach and education have been very effective with international students. The advocates have made presentations at the international student orientations at the University of Iowa and Drake University (which is slated to continue); and organized social media campaigns and events with much more international student participation. For instance, the advocates organized a meditation workshop at Drake University and a yoga workshop at Grinnell College. The attendance records showed how communities, namely Asian immigrants, typically assumed to be apolitical were actually very interested in social justice issues, including domestic violence and sexual assault.