Study links US anti-Asian hatred to social disparities

A new study found that anti-Asian hate incidents in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic correlated to the degree of local economic and health disparities, and FBI data on such incidents were different from those reported by the news media.

The study, called Roots of Racism: Examining the Conditions for Anti-Asian Hate During COVID-19, was initiated by The Asian American Foundation, or TAAF. It analyzed anti-Asian hate incidents, or AAHIs, using data from January 2020 to December 2021 from media data compiled by TAAF and law enforcement data documented by the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program.

The study examined the relationship between social factors and anti-Asian hate, and found that there is no correlation between AAHIs and political party affiliation. Such incidents happened in counties of both Republican and Democratic strongholds.

The data suggested that AAHIs were correlated to economic conditions. Counties with more income inequality, lower median household income and more free lunch recipients tended to have more AAHIs incidents. Conversely, counties with higher homeownership saw fewer AAHIs.

Poor health was also connected to AAHIs. Counties with more drug overdose deaths and less sleep time saw a higher number of AAHIs.

TAAF said such results were consistent with previous research that has found that income inequality is a strong predictor of neighborhood turmoil and violent crime in general.

The study noticed some discrepancies between the two data sets: for the same period, the media reported 1,288 AAHIs, while the FBI recorded 1,087.

At the local level, the discrepancy is large for some counties, data showed. In San Francisco, the media reported 113 AAHIs, while the FBI recorded 70.

In its news release, TAAF said the discrepancies can be attributed to a variety of factors, including news coverage of incidents that may not legally be categorized as crimes, and victims choosing not to report incidents.

TAAF said there is a need for improved measures to encourage reporting, whether to law enforcement or community-based support organizations, in order to accurately capture the full scope of anti-Asian hate incidents.

Unwilling to report

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 (56 percent) than those who witnessed it (69 percent).

The most common barriers to reporting were a reluctance to bring additional attention to themselves, not feeling comfortable dealing with law enforcement, or not knowing how to report.

"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, CEO of TAAF, in the release.

Anti-Asian hate incidents continue to be an issue in the US. TAAF recently released its 2024 Social Tracking of Asian Americans in the US, or STAATUS, Index, an annual survey of people's attitudes toward Asian Americans.

The survey showed that about one-third of Asian Americans were called a slur in the past year, and 61 percent of Asian Americans think that hatred toward them has increased in the past year.

mayzhou@chinadailyusa.com