#StopAsianHate: the largest global campaign against anti-Asian hate crimes:
By: Richa Singh
Tags: Stopasianhate, Racism, Asian American, Covid-19, Asia

The COVID-19 pandemic, which was first reported in the city of Wuhan, Hubei, China, has led to an increased amount of racism against Asians and Asian Americans.

A study found that 58% of Asian Americans believed that racist views had increased towards them during the pandemic.

One recent study published by the American Journal of Public Health argues that former President Donald Trump’s first “China virus” tweet on March 16, 2020 was directly responsible for a major increase in anti-Asian hashtags. Before his tweet, the dominant hashtag on Twitter was #covid19. But after that, it was #chinesevirus, which saw a surge in use by 8,351 percent. The study added that people who used that term were more likely to post other anti-Asian content.

#StopAsianHate is the name of several anti-Asian-violence rallies which have been held across the United States in 2021 in response to racism against Asian Americans related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these rallies occurred in the wake of a series of shootings which occurred at three Atlanta spas in which eight people were killed, six of whom were Asian women.

Almost a month after the Atlanta massage parlor shootings, rallies against anti-Asian hate crimes have sprung up across the world.From the U.S., Canada, to Germany, France, to New Zealand and even Asian countries, people have started speaking out both on social media platforms and in the real world.

How to intervene, when a victim’s life is at stake:

During the pandemic, hate crimes towards east and southeast asians have tripled. We, the global community,stands with the East and SouthEast Asian community against racism in all its forms. Here it is important to be an active bystander…this can include amplifying the voices of those who are being silenced by sharing their stories and experiences, and calling out racism.

If your friend, colleague, or a member of the public is being harassed, it’s important to be an active bystander. If someone is in immediate danger, call Police immediately. Never put yourself in physical danger.

when it comes to intervening safely, some key things to remember are:

Call out negative behaviour, tell the person to stop. Do this as a group if you can. Be polite and try not to aggravate the situation – remain calm. Don’t physically intervene – you could get hurt.

Try and get the victim out of the situation – make any excuse to get them away to safety.

Alternatively, try distracting, or redirecting the situation by starting a conversation with the perpetrator to allow their potential target to move away or have friends intervene.

Make sure to ask the victim if they’re okay – they’ll probably be in shock and feeling upset. Listen. Allow them to have a space to talk.Emotional support is important.

These tips can be handy and helpful if you need to report:

If it is safe to do so, take a photograph or video on your phone.

Record details of times, number plates, descriptions and so on. If you don’t have a pen with you, leave a voicemail message on your phone. As soon as you can, write down the information in as much detail as possible.

If someone is in immediate danger, call Police.

Report it when it’s safe to do so. You don’t need to visit a police station and you can report it online.

#StopAsianHate: The most prominent slogan and hashtag on Google:

According to Google Trends, global search interest for “Stop Asian Hate,” the most prominent slogan and hashtag for the anti-Asian violence movement, has hit record highs, with a surge of more than 5,000 percent last month.

Prez Biden & White House on #StopAsianHate campaign:

A couple of days ago, the Biden administration announced a set of measures responding to rising anti-Asian violence, including deploying $49.5 million from COVID-19 relief funds for U.S. community programs that help victims.

The White House has also promised to set up a new task force dedicated to countering xenophobia against Asians and carry out new efforts to enforce hate crime laws and report data on racial crimes.