Study finds more than 9,000 anti-Asian attacks took place since March 2020

More than 9,000 anti-Asian hate incidents have taken place since March 2020, according to a report released Thursday. 

The report was issued by Stop AAPI Hate, a national coalition which tracks incidents of hate against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community. The study found that 9,081 incidents of hate were reported between March 19, 2020, and June 30.

Of the incidents, 4,585 hate incidents occurred in 2020 and 4,533 occurred in 2021.

Advocates say that the coronavirus pandemic, which is believed to have originated in Wuhan, China, led to a worrying increase in hate incidents against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. And activists and lawmakers have blamed the increase on rhetoric used to describe the COVID-19 pandemic, such as former President Trump’s use of the phrase “Chinese virus.”

“President Trump clearly stoked the flames of xenophobia against AAPIs with his rhetoric,” said Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.) in March. 

“The CDC and the World Health Organization said that we should all use the official term, COVID-19, in order to make sure that this disease is not associated with a particular geographical location or ethnicity due to the stigma it causes. And President Trump refused to acknowledge that,” she added. 

Earlier this year, incidents of violence against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders garnered national attention after shootings at three Atlanta-area spas left eight dead, including six Asian American women. Robert Aaron Long was sentenced to life in prison late last month after pleading guilty to four of the deaths.

President Biden signed the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act in May, which designates a Justice Department official to review and expedite hate crimes reports. It also bolsters support for state and local officials for investigating hate crimes.

Verbal harassment made up the vast majority incidents — 63.7 percent — reported by Stop AAPI Hate. Shunning, or purposely avoiding people of Asian descent, was second largest category, accounting for 16.5 percent of incidents.

Physical assault accounted for 13.7 percent of incidents, comprising the third largest category.

More than 31 percent of hate incidents occurred in public streets, while just around 30 percent occurred at businesses.

Women still made up the vast majority of reported incidents, comprising 63.3 percent of all reports compared to 30.4 percent of men.