2 in 3 anti-Asian hate victims are women, survey shows

SAN FRANCISCO –  Women face a disproportionate burden of anti-Asian hate, with 62 percent of hate incidents being reported by Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women.

This was the result of a recent survey conducted by the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF), “The State of Safety for Asian American and Pacific Islander Women in the US.”

NAPAWF is a policy advocacy organization that aims to build collective power so that all AAPI women and girls can have full agency over their lives, families and communities.

AAPI women and girls report 62 percent of hate incidents. AAPI non-binary people have also reported experiencing heightened incidents of hate.

The survey found that a staggering 74 percent of AAPI women report personally experiencing racism or discrimination, 38 report experiencing sexual harassment and 12 percent report experiencing gender or race-based physical violence.

The percentage of AAPI women who report experiencing racism or discrimination had no significant difference across ethnic subgroups.

The most common sites where AAPI women experience racism or discrimination include public spaces such as restaurants, grocery stores, and shopping centers (47%), an individual’s place of work (17%), their neighborhood (17%), and mass transit (17%).

The most common perpetrators of racism or discrimination were strangers (53%), friends or neighbors (12%) and clients or customers (11%).

A woman holds a placard as she participates in a Stop Anti-Asian Hate rally at Columbus Park in New York City. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

The primary reasons AAPI women report experiencing racism or discrimination include race and ethnicity (46%), skin color (34%) and language or accent (19%).

Nine in ten AAPI women agree that elected officials need to invest more resources in directly impacted communities in order to combat anti-AAPI hate aside from having a better understanding of the intersectional ways in which AAPIs experience discrimination.

The survey results also reveal that a staggering 71 percent of AAPI women report feeling stressed or anxious due to fear of gender or race-based discrimination, harassment or violence.

Because of this, many AAPI women report modifying their behavior with 20 percent advising family members to stay away from public areas, 13 percent feeling scared to leave their homes, 6 percent not wanting their children to resume in-person learning due to fear of bullying and 6 percent feeling scared to return to work.

The study concluded that discrimination, harassment and violence against AAPI women – stemming from a long history of anti-AAPI sentiment and misogyny – are still rampant in society, according to NAPAWF. They occur every day in public spaces, at schools and businesses, and neighborhoods.

“Racism intertwined with misogyny continues to be a part of the lives of AAPI women, and the pandemic merely laid bare what went unnoticed before,” the organization said.

Hate incidents and discrimination targeting AAPI persons and communities, especially the disproportionate impact on AAPI women and girls cannot be ignored prompting calls from NAPAWF to call for systemic changes to understand, address and end these hate incidents and discrimination based on racism and xenophobia.

The survey was conducted in January and February 2022 with a sample comprised of 2,414 adult women residing in the United States who self-identify as Asian American, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander.

It was offered both online and via phone in English, Hindi, Korean, Mandarin, Tagalog and Vietnamese.