Nearly 3 Million AAPIs experienced a hate incident since 2021, national survey data suggests

March 17, 2022

Nearly 3 million AAPI adults have experienced a hate incident since the beginning of 2021, according to a new survey conducted by national publisher AAPI Data and management firm Momentive.

The survey, released on the anniversary of the Atlanta spa shootings, polled 16,901 U.S. adults from March 2-9, 2022. Of the total sample, 1,991 identified as Asian or Asian American, while 186 identified as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.

AAPI Data says the poll offers “correctives” on existing data on anti-Asian hate. Of its respondents, 16% of Asian Americans and 14% of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islanders reported having experienced a hate incident since 2021, which suggests a sum of up to 3 million people.

Such an estimate is significantly higher than self-reported cases submitted to community monitoring websites, the publisher said. Stop AAPI Hate, a national coalition tracking such cases, reported a far lower tally of 10,905 hate incidents between March 19, 2020 and Dec.31, 2021.

The new survey also shows that Asian American women and men experience hate crimes and hate incidents at nearly similar levels. Existing reports, in contrast, suggest that there are twice as many incidents involving women than men, according to AAPI Data.

Among the women surveyed, 28% reported having ever experienced a hate incident, while 30% of the men said the same. In both groups, 16% reported having experienced a hate incident specifically since the beginning of 2021.

Still, only 54% of Asian American women expressed confidence that justice would be served if they reported a hate crime, compared to 62% of men. Women were also generally more concerned (85%) about future hate crimes compared to men (80%).

Aside from its AAPI focus, the survey sheds light on how much other races have been affected by hate crimes or hate incidents. Since January 2021, multiracial respondents were most targeted (19%), followed by Black (17%), Asian American (16%), Native or American Indian (15%), Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander (14%), Hispanic or Latinx (13%) and white (6%) respondents.

AAPI Data expects hate incidents to increase in the current year as businesses begin to reopen. And while the survey found that hate crimes involving AAPIs decreased in early 2022 compared to the same period last year, worries about becoming the next victim remain rife among individuals in the community, especially after four recent deaths that made national headlines.

Karthick Ramakrishnan, founder of AAPI Data, said they are grateful for the partnership with Momentive in pursuing such an important survey. “These data are much needed to inform our understanding of hate crimes, racial bias and racial discrimination in the United States,” he said.

AAPI Data Co-Director Janelle Wong also stressed the importance of the findings in showing how other people of color are affected by hate. “These trends help to add critical context and data to the ways in which hate crimes and more everyday experiences with racial discrimination affect all non-white groups in the country,” she said.

“These data provide new and essential context on the persistent impact of the tragic events of the past year,” said Jon Cohen, chief research officer at Momentive. “Getting fresh insight into the incidences of hate crimes along with reports of day-to-day discrimination shine a spotlight on how AAPI individuals are thinking about and expressing their identities.”

Survey results can also be found here.

Featured Image via 11Alive

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