What’s the Story
Racist attacks and hate crimes against Asian-Americans rose by 150 percent in 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to police reports, around 122 incidents of anti-Asian attacks occurred in major and most populated cities in the U.S, which started in March and April of last year as cases of Coronavirus started to increase.
It is believed that the hate crimes where fueled by the mistaken sentiments associating Asians with Covid-19 since the virus originated in China.
The Asian American community have been living in fear due to these crimes and some advocacy groups expressed concern about the involvement of law enforcers.
Anti-Asian Hate Crimes Rose 150% In Major U.S. Cities, Study Finds
Racist, nativist and xenophobic sentiments surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic are leading to attacks on Asian Americans.
Huffpost disclosed that according to a study of police records by the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, there were 122 hate crimes targeting Asian Americans in 16 of the country’s most populous cities in 2020.
The first spike in anti-Asian hate crimes occurred in March and April, according to the study, “amidst a rise in COVID cases and negative stereotyping of Asians relating to the pandemic.”
These spikes, according to the study, occurred even as overall hate crimes in those cities fell 7%, a drop likely caused by coronavirus lockdown measures, which created “a lack of interaction at frequent gathering places like transit, commercial businesses, schools, events, and houses of worship.”
Hate crimes against Asian Americans rose in L.A. in 2020, mirroring national trend
An epidemic of hate: anti-Asian hate crimes amid coronavirus
Hate crimes against Asian Americans and other members of the Asian and Pacific Islander communities in Los Angeles rose sharply in 2020, mirroring a national trend and causing concern among police and local advocacy organizations, Los Angeles Times reports.
Both police and advocates said they believe many more incidents occur than are reported, and that they are working to better identify, track and record such encounters and conduct more outreach in local Asian communities to encourage reporting by victims.
They say the recent hate has been fueled in part by misguided notions of blame for the COVID-19 pandemic, in which early cases arose in China. They said such hatred has at times been spurred by national political figures like former President Trump, and it is up to local leaders to push back.
Hate crimes against Asian Americans continue to rise amid pandemic
