Photo by Adam Chau
A new report from the Pew Research Center found that 81 percent of Asian adults surveyed say that violence against Asians is increasing in America. One-third say they fear someone will threaten or physically attack them.
The findings come from a Pew Research Center survey conducted from April 5 to 11, a few weeks after the fatal shootings in Atlanta killed six Asian women.
Pew surveyed 5,109 U.S. adults, including 352 English-speaking Asian adults. Only 56 percent of all U.S. adults said that violence against Asians is increasing in the U.S., compared to 81 percent of Asian adults.
The survey also asked Asian Americans if they had experienced five specific offensive incidents since the coronavirus pandemic began. About 45 percent of Asian respondents said they had experienced at least one of the five incidents.
Asian respondents also gave several different reasons they believe violence against Asians is increasing. Some 20 percent said specifically that former President Donald Trump’s rhetoric about the pandemic and China have contributed to the increase.
Another 16 percent cited racism in the United States against Asian people, 15 percent cited the general rise in violence during the pandemic and 12 percent cited scapegoating Asians for the pandemic as a reason. Around 29 percent did not answer the question.
Asian adults surveyed also said they experienced racism before the pandemic began. Around 73 percent said they personally experienced discrimination or had been treated unfairly because of their race or ethnicity before the pandemic.
The survey also found that Asians were more likely to express fear over discrimination than racial and ethnic groups. They were also about as likely as Black adults to say they were subject to slurs and jokes since the start of the pandemic.
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