Study: 75% of AAPI women have experienced racism last year

A memorial for Michelle Go, who was pushed into the path of a subway train was held in
New York City's Time Square last month.

With Women's History Month underway, a new survey found that 3 out of 4 AAPI women have experienced racism and/or discrimination over the past 12 months.

A report spotlighting the experiences of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) women with discrimination, harassment and violence also report that about half of all hate incidents occurred in a public space, such as sidewalks, public transportation, markets, shopping centers and restaurants.

“The most recent deaths of two Asian American women in New York, nearly one year after the Atlanta shootings, is yet another reminder of a wave of violence targeting not just Asian Americans, but Asian American women,” said NAPAWF’s executive director Sung Yeon Choimorrow. “This past year, our community has experienced a 339% jump in hate crimes – with AAPI women disproportionately being the targets of this hate and violence.”

The groundbreaking survey, The State of Safety for Asian American and Pacific Islander Women in the U.S., was released by National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF) Thursday (March 3). It surveyed over 2,400 AAPI women from every region of the country and across four ethnic subgroups: East Asian, South Asian, Southeast Asian, and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI).

The report was released days after a man attacked seven AAPI women within a 2-hour period in New York City. The suspect, Steven Zajonc, 28, was arrested and charged with seven counts each of assault as a hate crime, aggravated harassment, and harassment. 

Last month, deadly attacks heightened the fear among AAPI women. Christina Lee was fatally stabbed over 40 times in her apartment and Michelle Go was pushed off a subway platform into the path of an oncoming train. Sunday, GuiYIng Ma died weeks after being bashed in her head with a rock, and Julia Lee was sitting in her car when she was shot in the head.

READ a full copy of the report is available at: napawf.org/stateofsafety

Hate incidents against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) have risen sharply since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the two years since the arrival of the coronavirus to the U.S., over 10,000 hate incidents have been reported to Stop AAPI Hate, a community-based organization collecting the data. AAPI women face a disproportionate burden of anti-AAPI hate with 62% of all national hate incidents being reported by AAPI women.

The NAPAWF study reports almost half (47%) incidents taking place in public, such as restaurants and shopping centers. Respondents also reported encountering incidents in familiar places where safety may be less of a concern including schools, healthcare facilities, workplaces, places of worship, and even their own neighborhood.

Additionally, almost 40% of AAPI women report experiencing sexual harassment in the past twelve months. “Although these experiences are shared across our diverse community, they are not the same for everyone — over half or 52% of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women reported experiencing sexual harassment, more than any other demographic subgroup,” said NAPAWF’s Research Director Dr. Drishti Pillai.

When asked about their safety in public spaces, over half (51%) of East Asian respondents said they felt less safe today than at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic — almost twenty points higher in comparison to 33% across other AAPI subgroups.

In a sobering reflection of the current state of safety for AAPI women, 71% of respondents report feeling anxious or stressed due to fear of discrimination, harassment, or violence.

“This is not new or surprising for many of us,” said Choimorrow. “AAPI women have long endured misogyny and racism for centuries and these findings show how this history continues to bleed into our grim present.”

When asked about elected officials’ responses, 36% and 29% of AAPI women believe that the Biden administration and their local elected officials, respectively, have sufficiently addressed anti-AAPI hate and threats to their safety. However, the survey results revealed a path forward. Over 90% of AAPI women agree that elected officials need to better understand the experiences AAPI people have with discrimination, harassment and violence. Similarly, over 90% agreed that elected officials should act on that understanding by investing more resources in the communities most impacted by this hate.

“We applaud President Biden for bringing national attention to anti-Asian hate and violence in his first State of the Union address,” says Choimorrow. “And we look forward to continuing our work with the president and other elected officials to address its disproportionate impact on Asian American and Pacific Islander women.”

The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) helped fund the survey, seeking to support NAPAWF as it sheds much-needed light on the experiences of AAPI women today.

“AAPI women everywhere are living with an unbelievable amount of anxiety and fear over our personal safety," said TAAF’s board member Sonal Shah. "Every time we step out in public — whether it’s at work, walking our kids to school, or shockingly, standing on our front steps — there’s a possibility that we’ll be targeted. "

Kyung B. Yoon, president of Korean American Community Foundation, concurred: "The results of this survey are striking and far reaching. The climate of fear and anxiety created by persistent discrimination, harassment and violence is more than an issue of safety for AAPI women — it endangers their mental health, wellbeing, and happiness.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AAPI perspective, follow me on Twitter @DioknoEd.

To fight AAPI hate, a nationwide network and action centers established

The alarming rise in hate incidents against Asian Americans may be giving birth to the national voice for the AANHPI communities that has been lacking because of the wide diversity of the ethnic groups under the Asian American umbrella.

The Asian American Foundation, a convener, incubator, and funder for the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities, announced Tuesday (Sept. 28, 2021) the launch of TAAF's Anti-Hate National Network, which includes AAPI Action Centers to combat anti-AAPI hate. 

"Our AAPI families, friends, and neighbors continue to be blamed for the pandemic," said Sonal Shah, President of TAAF. "The launch of our Anti-Hate National Network, AAPI Action Centers, and AAPI Emergency Relief Fund is TAAF’s full-throated response to the hate happening in our communities that for too long has gone unchecked."

Stop AAPI Hate has catalogued over 9,000 incidents of bias against AANHPI since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Many say the surge in hate incidents, ranging from verbal harassment to mass shootings was exacerbated by the racist rhetoric coming out of the Trump administration blaming COVID-19 on China.

Instead of duplicating efforts by grassroots organizations, the TAAF hopes to use its resourced to connect and support the community "on-the-ground" agencies. For its AAPI Action Centers, TAAF is starting with three pilot cities, Chicago, New York City and Oakland, CA:

Chicago: Chinese American Service League (CASL) will serve as the Chicago AAPI Action Center and has received a grant of $500,000 from TAAF to support its Client Advocacy Unit, which includes comprehensive victim support including mental and primary health, legal services, housing, employment, and care coordination. CASL is also building its journalistic readiness program to ensure effective, impactful media coverage of anti-AAPI hate incidents. 

"We will engage with community partners to better respond to and prevent acts of hate. We will build cross racial partnerships to foster learning, safety, and security. And, we will stand together with one voice that shouts, ‘Chicago will not tolerate acts of hate against any person, regardless of their race, gender, or ability." said Paul Luu, CASL CEO.

New York City: The Asian American Federation will serve as the NYC AAPI Action Center and has received a grant of $500,000 from TAAF to support its Hope Against Hate Campaign which offers preventative safety trainings like upstander intervention and self-defense strategies, robust victim support services, and centralized ways to report assaults in order to get connected to services. The Asian American Federation is also spearheading a safety ambassador program to train volunteers in NYC to accompany AAPI community members in public places.

“The hate incidents AAPI New Yorkers have had to endure on the subways and streets are near-constant, and so we welcome TAAF’s investment in the work being done to keep vulnerable AAPI communities safe," said Jo-Ann Yoo, Executive Director of The Asian American Federation.

Oakland: Asian Health Services (AHS) will serve as the Oakland AAPI Action Center and has received a grant of $500,000 from TAAF to support its high-caliber health and wellness services, as well as its advocacy for health care equity for AAPIs. As part of its Action Center offerings, AHS is providing a trauma care unit, referral linkage services, and community level interventions to counter anti-AAPI hate. TAAF is also working with AHS on its African American / Asian American Racial Trauma Project, which aims to create a body of knowledge focused on racial trauma in African American and AAPI communities.

“California has seen the largest proportion of anti-AAPI hate incidents in the country since the pandemic hit,” said Sherry Hirota, Chief Executive Officer of Asian Health Services. “Oakland and the Bay Area have a long history of advocacy and activism. Not to be blamed or ignored, our AAPI community is strong and resilient. Racism and anti-AAPI hate are public health issues and the solutions will be long term and complex."

TAAF's Anti-Hate National Network aims to provide greater coordination and collaboration between organizations working to combat anti-AAPI hate by assembling them as part of a shared effort to better ensure resources get to where they are needed. Organizations included in the Network provide critical resources to AAPI communities that TAAF wants to invest in and help grow in order to scale better anti-hate tracking, protection, response, and prevention measures. 

The following organizations have received initial grants from TAAF and are now part of its Network: Act to Change, Asian American Journalists Association, Interfaith Youth Core, National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), RISE Together Fund, Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund (SALDEF), and Sikh Coalition.

Since its launch, TAAF has committed over $7 million to its anti-hate efforts which, in addition to today’s news, have included the development of its Rapid Response Toolkit, its Documenting Anti-AAPI Hate Codebook in partnership with Stop Anti-AAPI Hate, and an interfaith mobilization toolkit designed by the InterFaith Youth Core for college campuses.

This Thursday, September 30, TAAF will co-host a virtual event with NextShark: “From Hate to Hope - Building a National Network for Belonging.” TAAF President Sonal Shah will be joined by Congressmember Grace Meng, D-NY, Benny Luo, Founder & CEO of NextShark, Thu Quach of Asian Health Services, and Jo-Ann Yoo of the Asian American Federation. Amna Nawaz with PBS NewsHour will moderate the event. Registration is required.

CORRECTION: Earlier versions of this article inadvertently included a list of educational institutions serving AANHPI students. It has been removed.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, observations, tips and references, follow me on Twitter @dioknoed

The Asian American Foundation launches to improve AAPI advocacy, power, and representation across American society

As Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month gets underway, a new group launched May 3 with a $125 million treasure chest that will go towards fighting the current surge of hate targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

The Asian American Foundation ("TAAF") aims to act as a convener, incubator, and funder for the AAPI community. TAAF has already raised $125 million among its board members to support AAPI organizations and causes over the next five years — the largest philanthropic commitment in history by Asian Americans fully focused on supporting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. 

At the same time, TAAF is launching the "AAPI Giving Challenge" to galvanize even more resources to meet the needs of AAPI communities.

"We created TAAF to stand up for the 23 million Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders living in this country and help bring us all together in the fight for our own prosperity. TAAF wants to strengthen and build power for AAPIs, particularly as we face an exponential increase in hate and violence," said Sonal Shah, President of TAAF. 

"AAPI communities need systemic change to ensure we are better supported, represented, and celebrated across all aspects of American life. TAAF plans to spark that systemic change and help fundamentally transform AAPI empowerment and support well into the future." Shah previously served as Deputy Assistant to President Obama and founded the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation.

TAAF was founded to solve for the longstanding lack of investment in AAPI communities — particularly as anti-AAPI hate and violence persist at alarming rates. Historically, AAPI communities have received less than 0.5% of charitable giving from foundations. The foundation will address this severe underinvestment by offering funding and resources to the ecosystem of advocates and organizations committed to AAPI causes. 

Additionally, TAAF seeks to bring AAPI communities together to more effectively mobilize action against hate and violence and to build the infrastructure needed to improve AAPI advocacy, power, and representation across American society.

To start, TAAF will focus its efforts on three areas where the need is most urgent:

• Anti-Hate: TAAF will support organizations and leaders building long-term solutions for measuring and defending against anti-AAPI violence.

• Data & Research: TAAF will work to develop the common data standards to better track incidents of hate and violence targeting AAPI communities, while investing in data-driven research that identify the needs of AAPI communities to inform future policymaking, advocacy, and philanthropy.

• Education: TAAF will help create K-12 and higher education curricula that reflect the history of Asian American and Pacific Islanders as part of the American story. TAAF will also fund storytelling across the arts, media and film to include the AAPI experience and AAPI contributions to the tapestry of American history.

TAAF's Board of Directors https://www.taaf.org/our-team is led by Board Chair Li Lu, Founder & Chairman of Himalaya Capital. The board is composed of business and social impact leaders who have coalesced around the need to bring investments and resources to AAPI communities through a unified, well-funded platform. 

TAAF will also benefit from the support of an Advisory Council of over 30 leading AAPI leaders and allies of the community working in public policy, business, philanthropy, media, and the arts who will act as ambassadors of TAAF and support the advancement of its work. 

Founding Advisory Council members include CNN hosts Lisa Ling and Fareed Zakaria, CEO of the George W. Bush Center Ken Hersh, actor and producer Daniel Dae Kim, basketball player Jeremy Lin, former President of The World Bank Dr. Jim Kim, and former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

In addition to its initial commitment of $125 million, TAAF is inviting leaders from business and philanthropy to participate in its AAPI Giving Challenge, a 5-year commitment to bringing sorely needed resources to under-funded AAPI communities and causes. TAAF will work with the partners who join the AAPI Giving Challenge to develop programs and help bring TAAF's mission and vision to life.

Some of the high-profile donors include: Care.com founder Sheila Lirio Marcelo; Li Lu, the founder and chairman of the investment firm Himalaya Capital; Joseph Bae, the co-president of the investment firm Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts; Jerry Yang, the co-founder of Yahoo; Joseph Tsai, the co-founder and executive vice chairman of the Chinese technology company Alibaba; and Peng Zhao, the CEO of the financial services firm Citadel Securities.

The foundation has already made several critical investments in AAPI communities in order to ensure organizations can address anti-AAPI hate and violence. In the aftermath of the tragic Atlanta-area shooting that took place in March 2021, TAAF distributed $1 million each to Asian Americans Advancing Justice ("AAJC") coalition, Stop AAPI Hate, and  the National Asian American Women's Forum ("NAPAWF"). These grants will offer ongoing support as these organizations monitor anti-AAPI hate incidents and build systems to measure and defend hate against the community for the long-term.

A full list of grants made to date is available on the TAAF website. https://www.taaf.org/projects.

"Every Asian American has their American story. We are the cashiers, nurses, doctors, care workers, small business owners, students, political and business leaders," said Foundation president Shah.

"We serve and defend our country. We live in rural America, suburban America and urban America. Each of our stories are different, but we are part of the American story. We came for change. We came to build. We came because we believe in the promise of America. We belong. We are part of the American story."