Lowell Sun: Prof. Hahm Featured in “Middlesex Domestic Violence Task Force Hears of Impact of Coronavirus on Anti-Asian Discrimination”
The rise of Anti-Asian hate since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic has demanded the public’s attention at all levels, including local task forces. Recently, Social Research Department Chair and BUSSW Prof. Hyeouk Chris Hahm connected with Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan and the Middlesex County Domestic Violence Task Force to present a talk called, “COVID-19 Anti-Asian Discrimination and Asian Americans: Its Impact and Call to Action.” In her presentation, Hahm went beyond crime statistics to address how everything from systemic racism to language barriers affect groups and individuals within these communities differently. If not addressed, Hahm warns, these issues lead to increasingly devastating effects including domestic violence and sexual assault.
Excerpt from “Middlesex Domestic Violence Task Force hears of impact of coronavirus on anti-Asian discrimination” (The Lowell Sun) by Alana Melanson:
Citing data from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism, Hahm said overall hate crimes in the U.S. dropped 7% in 2020, but hate crimes targeting Asians increased 150%.
Three months into the pandemic, 68% of Asian American young adults reported they or family members had experienced or were exposed to COVID-19 anti-Asian discrimination, and 15% reported they were the victim of either verbal or physical assaults, she said, based on a BU study. Those experiences were associated with higher rates of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, as well as rising rates of depression, anxiety and suicide, Hahm said.
A study by Stop AAPI Hate showed about 25% of Asian American youths surveyed experienced discrimination including verbal harassment, social shunning, cyberbullying and physical assault during the pandemic, she said, contributing to a fear of returning to school.
Hahm said Asian Americans tend to experience a specific set of pervasive biases, prejudices and myths…Statistics that group all Asians together give the appearance they are all doing well, Hahm said, using the example of data that showed Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders together earned the highest median household income of all racial groups from 2013 to 2015.
However, when the data is disaggregated by specific country or ethnic origin, it shows the vast disparities between such groups as Burmese, Hmong, Laotians and Cambodians who make only a third to a half of the income of much higher-earning Indians, Filipinos and Taiwanese, who largely learn and speak English in their home countries, contributing to their higher socioeconomic status in the U.S., Hahm said.
Similarly, in academics, 25% to 30% of Vietnamese, Laotian, Hmong and Cambodian students don’t graduate from high school, she said.”