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Tracy Wong takes part in a rally near Chinatown in Los Angeles to raise awareness of anti-Asian violence. File photo: AFP

Asian-American group reports 3,795 racially motivated attacks during pandemic

  • ‘Stop AAPI Hate’ advocacy group documents US race-related incidents reported since March 2020
  • About two-thirds of racial attacks reported by women; Chinese the largest ethnic group

Since coronavirus shutdowns began last March, thousands of Asian-Americans have faced racist verbal and physical attacks or have been shunned by others, according to a study released Tuesday.

The study by Stop AAPI Hate documents 3,795 racially motivated attacks against Asian-Americans from last March to February, noting that the number is likely a fraction of the attacks that occurred because many were not reported to the group.

Stop AAPI Hate formed last March in response to attacks related to the perception that Asians were responsible for the coronavirus because of its origins in Wuhan, China. The group did not collect data in previous years to show whether attacks against Asians have increased during the pandemic.

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About 68 per cent of the anti-Asian attacks documented in the study were verbal harassment, 21 per cent were shunning and 11 per cent were physical assaults.

Another 9 per cent were civil rights violations such as workplace discrimination or being refused service at a business. About 7 per cent of the attacks were online harassment.

Most of the incidents occurred at businesses or on public streets.

04:07

US President Biden addresses ‘vicious’ hate crimes against Asian-Americans during pandemic

US President Biden addresses ‘vicious’ hate crimes against Asian-Americans during pandemic

“We ask policymakers at the local, state and national level to partner with us on implementing community-based solutions that will help ensure Asian Americans have equal rights and access to opportunities,” said Manjusha Kulkarni, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate and executive director of Asian Pacific Policy and Planning Council.

The report includes descriptions of the incidents provided by the victims.

At a subway station in Annandale, Virginia, an Asian-American woman was on an escalator when a man repeatedly punched her in the back and followed her, fake coughing and shouting “Chinese …” and then an obscenity.

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In an example of shunning, a ride hailing driver in Las Vegas said to an Asian-American rider: “Another Asian riding with me today, I hope you don’t have any Covid,” while leaning away from the rider. The driver also told the person not to request any more rides from anybody.

More than two-thirds of the racial attacks in the study were reported by women. More than 40 per cent of the attacks were reported by Chinese-Americans, 15 per cent by Korean-Americans and 8 per cent by Filipino-Americans.

“We need to reckon with both the historical and ongoing impact that racism, hate and violence are having on our community, especially on women, youth and seniors, who are particularly vulnerable,” said Cynthia Choi, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate and co-executive director of Chinese for Affirmative Action.

Anti-Asian sentiment in the United States goes way back. Examples range from mass lynchings of Chinese labourers in the late 1800s, to the Chinese Exclusion Act, the only US immigration law to exclude an entire ethnic group, to the mass internment of Japanese-Americans during World War II.

Additional reporting by Agence France-Presse

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