A new report from The Asian American Foundation (TAAF) found 1 in 5 Asian American New Yorkers have been physically assaulted in the last 12 months.
Asian Americans in the city are experiencing violence at an alarming rate, and are often reluctant or unable to report harm, according to a news release.
The survey is a representative study based on a sample of 1,000 NYC-based Asian American respondents, age 16 and above, conducted between November 30 and December 19, 2023.
Key findings of the study include that 83% of Asian American women note public safety as a major concern in NYC; 72% of men say the same. Over half of NYC’s Asian Americans feel unsafe on public transportation.
Violence hinders empowerment for the nearly 2 million AAPIs who call New York City home. 54% of Asian Americans who experienced a hate incident in New York did not report the experience to anyone. In the past 12 months, 62% of respondents witnessed an Asian American community member be insulted, harassed, threatened, or physically attacked due to their race or ethnicity. 75% of respondents changed their daily routines and behaviors to avoid experiencing anti-Asian hate.
Major barriers to reporting as shared by those who did not report when they experienced a hate incident. These barriers include: reluctance to bring additional attention to themselves (42%); did not know that this was something New Yorkers could report (29%); lack of understanding on how to report such incidents (27%); and lack of comfort reporting the incident to law enforcement or other officials (26%).
