Study Suggests Correlation Between Economic, Health Factors and Rise in Asian American Hate Incidents During COVID-19 Pandemic

And Finds Discrepancies in Reporting between News Media and FBI Data

SAN FRANCISCO , Aug. 20, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) today released findings from its study Roots of Racism: Examining the Conditions for Anti-Asian Hate During COVID-19. Funded by a Data Visualization grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the study explores the rise in anti-Asian hate incidents (AAHIs) during the pandemic, finding that such incidents are closely related to local economic conditions and unequal health outcomes, while shedding light on the discrepancies in incidents reported by the FBI and incidents reported by the news media.

The study examines the relationship between AAHIs, local economic conditions, and unequal health outcomes. The findings align with previous studies that analyze these relationships– where counties with higher rates of drug overdose deaths and income inequality tended to experience more incidents than those without. For example, in Philadelphia County, PA, there were 22 anti-Asian hate incidents reported by news media. But in Dallas County, TX – a county with a comparable Asian population size but lower income inequality and Asian American drug overdose rates – there were only 6 reported.

Interestingly, the study finds several factors that did not correlate significantly with hate incidents against Asian Americans including political leaning, COVID-19 caserates, and homicide rates.

The study also finds that AAHIs that are reported to the FBI only tell half the story, with large gaps between the number of incidents reported by news media and those reported to the FBI in many counties.

For example, in San Francisco, CA, there were 113 incidents reported by news media from 2020-2021, but only 70 by the FBI. However, in Suffolk, MA, the news media reported 11 incidents while the FBI tracked 26.

These discrepancies can be attributed to a variety of factors, including news media coverage of incidents that may not legally be categorized as crimes and victims choosing not to report incidents. This highlights the need for improved measures to encourage reporting, whether to law enforcement or to community-based support organizations, in order to accurately capture the full scope of anti-Asian hate incidents.

"These findings clearly show that there's work to be done when it comes to both tracking and reporting anti-Asian hate incidents and addressing the factors that contribute to incidents in the first place," said Norman Chen, President & CEO, The Asian American Foundation. "By addressing the disparities that Asian American and other marginalized groups face, we can create a more inclusive society that is rooted in empathy and understanding, and ultimately weed out the causes of bias, discrimination, and violence toward our community."

TAAF has visualized findings and data from this study in an interactive microsite available at rootsofracism.taaf.org, making county-level insights accessible, easy to understand, and share on social media.

This report comes on the heels of TAAF's annual STAATUS Index, which found that nearly 3 in 10 of Asian American respondents indicated that they had been the victim of a hate incident  in the past twelve months. TAAF's New York City Safety Study released earlier this year also found that Asian Americans who experienced a hate crime are less likely to report incidents to police (54%) than those who witnessed (69%), with the most common barriers to reporting being a reluctance to bring additional attention to themselves (36%), not knowing how to report such incidents (30%) and not feeling comfortable reporting to law enforcement or other officials (30%).  

For more information about Roots of Racism: Examining the Conditions for Anti-Asian Hate During COVID-19 and The Asian American Foundation visit taaf.org.

About TAAF
TAAF serves the Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) community in their pursuit of belonging and prosperity that is free from discrimination, slander, and violence. Launched in 2021 in response to the rise in anti-Asian hate and to address the long-standing underinvestment in AANHPI communities, TAAF mobilizes the community to fight against hate and violence, reclaim our narratives and celebrate our stories through our core pillars of Anti-Hate, Education, Narrative Change, and Resources & Representation. Through our high-impact initiatives, events, and investments in national and local nonprofits, we're creating a permanent and irrevocable sense of belonging for millions of AANHPIs in the United States. For additional information about TAAF, please visit www.taaf.org

SOURCE The Asian American Foundation