Home
Resources for individuals experiencing anti-Arab, Muslim, or South Asian Hate

Resources for individuals experiencing anti-Arab, Muslim, or South Asian Hate

Ripped paper divider effect Abstract background image

Over the past month, communities across the nation have faced a dramatic escalation of hate and bigotry. Thousands of anti-Arab, anti-Muslim, and anti-South Asian Hate have been reported since the recent surge of violence in the Middle East. 

If you or someone you know is in need of support, please share this guide. It contains immediate resources for survivors to report incidents and information about direct services. 

If you have resources to share or other feedback, please email Eunice Kim at Stop AAPI Hate (ekim@stopaapihate.org). For any additional inquiries, please email (community@stopaapihate.org). 

This guide was last updated on 12/22/23.

Download Resources

LIST OF RESOURCES (PDF)

Resources for survivors and impacted communities

Government Agencies

Refer to Stop AAPI Hate’s resource on the 50 State Summary of State Level Civil Rights Agencies to understand your rights to be treated fairly under State laws. The summary describes state-level civil rights and human rights statutes in the United States that prohibit discrimination in public accommodations, education, health care, public transit, housing, employment, and other settings in each State.

CA vs Hate

https://www.cavshate.org/

All victims and witnesses of hate incidents and hate crimes in California can report and are eligible for free hotline support services. California vs Hate is not affiliated with law enforcement, and you can report anonymously.

Report online here: https://stophate.calcivilrights.ca.gov/s/ or report by phone by calling 833-8-NO-HATE Monday – Friday from 9:00 am – 6:00 pm. If outside of those hours, you can leave a voicemail, or you can call 211 to report hate and seek support.

Civil Rights Division | Department of Justice 

https://www.justice.gov/

If you believe you or someone else has experienced a civil rights violation, report your incident on the Department of Justice’s website: https://civilrights.justice.gov/report/

U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission 

https://www.eeoc.gov/

If you or someone else has experienced employment discrimination or harassment, you can file a charge of employment discrimination on the EEOC Public Portal: https://publicportal.eeoc.gov/Portal/Login.aspx 

If you have questions about general information on the laws EEOC enforced and filing a charge call 1-800-669-4000, 1-800-669-6820 (TTY for Deaf/Hard of Hearing callers only), 1-844-234-5122 (ASL Video Phone for Deaf/Hard of Hearing callers only), or info@eeoc.gov.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development 

https://www.hud.gov/

HUD provides housing support and uplifts communities. They can guide your next steps tot the right place. Find resources on housing assistance on their website: https://www.hud.gov/topics 

If you believe your rights may have been violated, report housing discrimination on their website: https://www.hud.gov/fairhousing/fileacomplaint.

South Asian Organizations

Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF) 

https://saldef.org/

SALDEF is a national Sikh American impact organization focused on building leadership and capacity in the Sikh American community. They envision a United States where Sikh Americans are respected and recognized as an integral part of this nation. 

If you have been the victim of a bias incident or hate crime and targeted for physical, mental, or emotional abuse for your Sikh faith, report on SALDEF’s website: https://saldef.org/report-an-incident/ 

SALDEF has prepared resources to help you know exactly what to expect based on local and state-level laws in your state, as well as addressing the mental toll that such a difficult experience can exert. They have also prepared guides in both English and Punjabi clearly outlining key facts that will help you feel more comfortable in working with authorities without threatening your status. Click the links below to access SALDEF’s resources:

Sikh Coalition 

https://www.sikhcoalition.org/

The Sikh Coalition redefines what’s possible for the Sikh American community through their work in the community, courtrooms, classrooms, and the halls of Congress.

The Sikh Coalition is not taking on new cases at this time but you can fill out their legal intake form on this website: https://www.sikhcoalition.org/legal-help/ and report your hate incident here: https://www.reporthate.org/. 

The Sikh Coalition has dozens of resources for you and your sangat. All of their resources are free and can be found in the resource section of their website: https://www.sikhcoalition.org/resources/; you can also request free prints by filling out the online form or contacting resources@sikhcoalition.org with questions.

South Asian Network (SAN)

https://southasiannetwork.org/

The South Asian Network is a community-rooted resource serving, supporting, & advocating for the South Asian community in Los Angeles, California. SAN stands against Anti-Asian Hate and has resources for victims or bystanders of hate. Access their Anti-Asian hate resources on their website: https://southasiannetwork.org/organizing-against-anti-asian-hate/.

Utilize the “Asian American and Pacific Islander Reflections on Palestine Resource Guide” here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wvBUdAN2nGv05aZJel4WrcauM46hbCU-/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=109786232196991889684&rtpof=true&sd=true.

Arab American Organizations

The National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC) 

https://nnaacommunities.org/

The National Network for Arab American Communities (NNAAC) is a consortium of independent Arab American community-based organizations. Their mission To improve the lives of Arab Americans by amplifying their voices, strengthening the capacity of member organizations, improving representation, and increasing accountability to our communities. They support Arab American nonprofits through capacity building, civic engagement, policy and advocacy, and youth leadership. 

TAKE ON HATE is a campaign that challenges the persistent discrimination and misperception of Arab and Muslim Americans in the U.S., including refugees. 

Please share any incidents of discrimination you have experienced on NNAAC’s website: https://nnaacommunities.org/take-on-hate/.

American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC)

https://adc.org/

ADC is a civil rights organization committed to defending the rights of people of Arab descent and promoting their rich cultural heritage.

Report your hate incident on ADC’s website. Describe the incident with enough information so we can better understand your complaint. The information you provide will remain confidential during the investigation and verification of the incident. ADC does not provide legal assistance in the following matters: divorce/family related cases, contract/business related cases, and criminal cases.

Report your incident on this website: https://adc.org/legal-policy/get-assistance/#scroll.

Arab American Institute (AAI)

https://www.aaiusa.org/

The Arab American Institute organizes the 3.7 million Arab Americans across the country to ensure an informed, organized, and effective constituency is represented in all aspects of civic life.

Access AAI’s list of resources and fact sheets on this website: https://www.aaiusa.org/library-page

Muslim Organizations

Muslims for Just Futures 

https://www.muslimsforjustfutures.org/

Muslims for Just Futures envisions a society where our communities live with dignity, power, and freedom. They are committed to building long-term power and base-building in both areas with a focus on centering working-class communities and women. 

Muslims for Just Futures offers chaplaincy and healing support for 1:1s. Community members can reach out at community@muslimsforjustfutures for chaplaincy and healing support for 1:1s. 

Utilize Muslim for Just Futures and Building Movement Project’s Rapid Response Resources for Community members Addressing Hate, Anti-Palestinian Racism, & Islamophobia in the US: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Kod5WV7sPvvSeeKU4cUioyMEMQ9r2vri1ZSgdVQdQAg/edit?usp=sharing.

Council on American – Islamic Relations (CAIR)

https://www.cair.com/

CAIR’s mission is to enhance understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.

CAIR works to protect and extend the civil liberties guaranteed primarily by the Bill of Rights and the U.S. Constitution. They take requests for legal help for civil rights matters. They can only take a limited number of cases, and must turn down some requests even when serious injustice has occurred. Generally, they represent individuals who have experienced religious discrimination or been targeted because of their religion. 

Report an incident and seek legal help from the CAIR Civil Rights Department on this website: https://www.cair.com/report/.

CAIR’s “Know your rights” material is available in English, Arabic, Bengali, Bosnian, Farsi, Somali, and Urdu. *Each language listed is a link to a page where all PDFs for that language are available for download. Access their resources on this website: https://www.cair.com/know-your-rights/.

Utilize CAIR’s Palestine resource guide to take action, provide support for those affected, and protect yourself as you make these efforts: https://ca.cair.com/sfba/palestine-resource-guide/.

Access CAIR CA’s 2023 Bullying Report here: https://ca.cair.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/CAIR-CA-2023-Bullying-Report-2.pdf.

Additional mental health resources are at the end of the report.

Muslim Advocates 

https://muslimadvocates.org/

Muslim Advocates is a national civil rights organization that uses litigation, policy engagement and communications strategies to promote justice and equity while protecting the diverse spectrum of Muslim communities from anti-Muslim discrimination in all of its forms.

Muslim Advocates take a limited number of individual clients and their legal work usually focuses on cases that have the potential to have a broad impact on unjust policies and practices. They seek to provide referrals to other legal service providers who practice the type of law we understand you to need. Please note that they will need approximately seven (7) days to review requests for legal assistance and provide a response, and that their referral is not a voucher for the skills of any provider to whom they may refer you. If they provide a referral, that does not mean you don’t have a claim, it only means that they do not have capacity to take your case. 

Report your incident on this website: https://muslimadvocates.org/action/report-discrimination/

HEART 

https://hearttogrow.org/

HEART is a national organization that mobilizes Muslims to dismantle gender violence, promote sexual health, address sexual violence in communities & anti-Muslim hate. 

HEART is not a direct service organization but can connect you to resources or other supports that best match your inquiry related to sexual/domestic violence, reproductive health, and perhaps some general questions about sex or your body. Fill out their case management form on their website to request support: https://airtable.com/appaPtbYtxcBmJ7Yw/shrDC8viDrjzO6ZEY.

The INAYA Care Fund is a grassroots fund for US-based Muslims in need of financial assistance as they navigate grief, organizing, and transitions. Learn more and get involved on their website: https://sites.google.com/heartwomenandgirls.org/inayacarefund/home/about-the-fund.

Students

Office for Civil Rights | U.S. Department of Education 

https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/index.html

If you are a student experiencing discrimination or harassment, file a complaint through the Office of Civil Rights Electronic Appeals Form here: https://ocrcas.ed.gov/content/ocr-electronic-appeals-form.

Palestine Legal 

https://palestinelegal.org/

Palestine Legal protects the civil and constitutional rights of people in the U.S. who speak out for Palestinian freedom.

Palestine Legal works with a network of organizations, attorneys and advocacy groups to respond to requests for legal and advocacy assistance, and to document incidents of suppression. They will coordinate with this network to provide you with the best possible pro-bono (free) legal advice, representation or referral, when it is within their Scope of Services. They reserve the right to refuse services based on their Refusal of Service Policy.

Fill out Palestine Legal’s intake form here: https://palestinelegal.org/intake. 

If you are a student advocating for justice in Palestine on campus and want to know your rights, access Palestine Legal’s resource guide to help you through situations you encounter when organizing an event, protest, or simply expressing support for Palestinian human rights on their website: https://palestinelegal.org/know-your-rights.

MSA West 

https://msawest.org/

MSA West is a grassroots nonprofit organization led by and devoted to empowering Muslim students across the West Coast. 

Muslim and Muslim students are severely under reporting major incidents of Islamophobia, harassment, hate crimes, and more. MSA West has a database to keep track of all major and minor incidents taking place on college campuses in the West Coast and they use this information to keep track of Islamophobic incidents to advocate for Muslim students across the coast. Fill out the Student Incident Form on their website: https://cryptpad.fr/form/#/2/form/view/-taDQwZjxMEW9f4o0byKc+-7R9Yk-SBKbf+SeThunc4/

Please note that the information may be shared with Muslim organizations working to push for extra protection of Muslim students on college campuses. All submissions are monitored and tracked by MSA West. For urgent support, please email officers@msawest.org.

Support and amplify their Emergency Student Support Fund to help protect Muslim students in this time of crisis on this website: https://givebutter.com/MSAW_StudentResource.

Social Media Accounts to Follow