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Tip of the Iceberg: Estimates of AAPI Hate Incidents Far More Extensive than Reported

BY KARTHICK RAMAKRISHNAN, JANELLE WONG, JENNIFER LEE, SARA SADHWANI, AND SUNNY SHAO

Ten percent of Asian Americans and Pacific Islander adults have experienced hate crimes and hate incidents in 2021, according to a March 2021 study by SurveyMonkey and AAPI Data. These rates were higher than the national average of 6 percent. Similarly, 12 percent of Asian Americans and 10 percent of Pacific Islanders experienced hate incidents in 2020, compared to a national average of 8 percent. With about 18 million AAPI adult residents in the United States, these survey findings suggest that millions of AAPIs have experienced hate incidents since the onset of COVID-19.

Here are more details about the survey, and how we derived our estimates. The 2021 American Experiences with Discrimination Survey was conducted online by SurveyMonkey between March 18 and March 26, with adult residents of the United States based on SurveyMonkey’s proprietary panel and supplementary panels of Asian American and Pacific Islander respondents chosen from trusted vendors. Overall, 16,336 respondents took the survey, including 1,831 Asian American, 186 Pacific Islander, 9,811 White, 1,848 Black, 1,278 Hispanic/Latino, 265 Native American, and 361 Multiracial, respondents, plus 756 who self-identified as some other race.

The survey data are weighted to correct for biases in the proportion of respondents by race, ethnicity, geography, gender, nativity, age, and educational attainment of respondents when compared to the 2018 American Community Survey. Our population estimates are derived by multiplying the weighted survey estimates by the total number of Asian American adults (17.2 million) and Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander adults (985,000). In our survey, 10.2 percent of Asian American adults and 10.0 percent of NHPI adults indicated that they had experienced a hate crime or hate incident in 2021. This compares to the national average of 5.8 percent in 2021.

Specifically, respondents were asked “Have you ever been a victim of a hate crime? That is, have you ever had someone verbally or physically abuse you, or damage your property specifically because of your race or ethnicity?” If they answered “Yes,” then they were asked three additional questions on whether they experienced hate crimes or hate incidents “before the coronavirus pandemic in 2020,” “last year, in 2020,” and “this year, in 2021.” All questions are available here with interactive toplines by race/ethnicity.

Overall, about one in four Asian Americans (27%) and Pacific Islanders (24%) indicate prior experiences with hate crimes or hate incidents, compared to the national average of 22 percent.

Less severe acts of racial discrimination and microaggression also show elevated levels among Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.





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