Most Pacific Islanders don’t report racism despite high incident rates: survey

Sixty-one percent of Pacific Islander (PI) adults who experienced hate acts in 2024 never reported them to authorities, according to a Stop AAPI Hate survey released this month, even as 47% encountered such incidents during the year.

Key findings: Younger PIs bore the brunt of hate in 2024, with 62% of those aged 18 to 29 reporting incidents, according to the survey of 504 PI adults conducted in early January. Meanwhile, rates dropped to 43% for those aged 30 to 44, 35% for those 45 to 59 and 44% for those 60 and older. Racial slurs and other harassment affected 41% of respondents, with 27% facing institutional discrimination from employers or businesses.

The incidents spanned multiple settings, occurring online, in public spaces, at workplaces and at businesses. Among those targeted, 66% experienced hate based on multiple identities including age, class and gender alongside race. Despite the widespread nature of these experiences, most remained silent as 61% never contacted human resources, police or civil rights agencies, and 25% told no one at all. When asked why, victims cited believing it would not make a difference, fearing unwanted attention and viewing incidents as insufficiently serious.

Why silence hurts: This underreporting obscures the true scale of anti-Pacific Islander racism and ultimately prevents accountability. Unfortunately, the pattern extends to 65% of Asian Americans (AA) who also dismissed incidents as insignificant despite over half potentially constituting unlawful acts, according to a separate Stop AAPI Hate survey released earlier this year.

Beyond the immediate harm, the toll on well-being was severe, with 58% of PI victims reporting mental or physical health damage and 41% experiencing moderate or severe anxiety or depression symptoms compared to 17% of non-victims. Despite these challenges, 83% of Pacific Islander adults expressed optimism about ending racism through collective action.