Perception of Racial Hate Crimes among Asians

• In Event: Hates Against AAPIs (Organized and Sponsored by Korean Society of Criminology in America (KoSCA) & Association of Chinese Criminology and Criminal Justice in the United States (ACCCJ))

Abstract

This study examines the factors that influence racial hate crime perception among Asians. Specifically, how do incident characteristics and Asian respondents’ demographics influence racial hate crime perception? And whether recent Anti-Asian incidents change the way Asians perceive racial hate crimes? Employing a survey experiment, this study uses recent Anti-Asian incidents as stimuli and collects data from a US sample recruited from Mechanical Turk. Logistic regression models and profile analyses are performed to analyze the data. Preliminary results suggest that the reminder of recent Anti-Asian incidents raises awareness of racial hate crime perceptions among Asian respondents. Unique factors that affect racial hate crime perception are also observed when compared to other racial/ethnic groups. This study reveals the uniqueness of Asian as a racial group in understanding racial hate crimes. Tragic race-based violence and anti-violence movements may function as an awakening call to raise awareness of long-lasting anti-Asian sentiments in the US, especially among Asian populations. While Asian respondents are traditionally a hard-to-reach population, online crowdsourcing service seems to be a way to reach such a population. The inclusion of Asian respondents in hate studies is necessary and much needed.

Author

• Chenghui Zhang, University of Kentucky