Stopping AAPI Hate: COVID-19 Related Racism and Discrimination Against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, Its Origins, Our History and Avenues for Redress

Abstract

Between March 2020 and March 2022, Stop AAPI Hate received over eleven thousand reports of anti-Asian hate and discrimination. Analysis of the data indicates that 67% of incidents involve harassment, 17% involve physical assault and 12% involve civil rights violations, including refusal of service, vandalism and discrimination in housing and the workplace. Impacts on community members have been significant. Many have turned to criminal law enforcement as the answer. Given that a significant majority of incidents reported to Stop AAPI Hate are not hate crimes, more appropriate means of addressing the harm include prevention and non-carceral approaches, such as civil rights enforcement, community safety, and education equity. Toward that end, Stop AAPI Hate focused its efforts in California on the No Place for Hate CA Campaign that resulted in the enactment of two bills, SB 1161 and AB 2448, to address harassment in public transit and discrimination in retail. Stopping anti-Asian hate and preventing it from happening in the future can only be achieved through a comprehensive framework which includes providing redress and resources to victims through civil rights enforcement, ensuring long term community safety through strong wages and safe, affordable housing, and guaranteeing education equity by teaching ethnic studies in K-12 schools.