If a racist attack happens in a supermarket, what should the staff do?
- Asian shoppers are reported to have been racially targeted at Australian supermarkets, even as racism complaints increase in the country after the onset of Covid-19
- What responsibility do retail companies have for protecting customers from racism?
A visit to your neighbourhood supermarket should be a routine if mildly enjoyable activity. However, for a number of minorities in Australia, stepping out to buy groceries can end in racial abuse and profiling.
This month, two video clips emerged showing Asian shoppers being targeted by fellow shoppers at separate Woolworths stores. Woolworths is Australia’s largest supermarket chain, and along with Coles, controls over 60 per cent of the grocery market.
Last week, Sydney hairdresser Linda Ha uploaded a video in which a fellow customer told her to “go back to where you’re from”. When Ha confronted the customer, she was accused of reverse racism. This came after a clip uploaded to TikTok showed an Adelaide couple at the receiving end of an expletive-laden outburst from a customer.
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What responsibility do supermarkets have for protecting customers from racism? Clearly more than how Woolworths responded to both incidents. The Adelaide couple who were subjected to abuse were reportedly asked by staff to leave the supermarket.