Hate Crimes During Corona Virus EraHate Crimes During Corona Virus EraHate Crimes During Corona Virus Era

Since the emergence of coronavirus, the world continues to experience social problems such as discrimination and stigmatization. These social problems have affected the majority of people throughout the work in almost all social statuses. Since the first case in China, the pandemic led to a new wave of social problems. It is necessary to discuss discrimination as a hate crime that has spread across the globe, factors leading to its prevalence, and different strategies adopted to alleviate it from the society.  

Corona Virus has led to the emergence of hate crimes across the globe. Racially motivated hate crimes such as physical violence, harassment, and stigmatization have escalated since the pandemic’s emergence (Syed & Nasir, 2021). For instance, Chinese ethnic groups have been stigmatized due to the general perception that the virus originated in China (Xu et al., 2021) . Also, most people in the United States, including leaders, refer to the coronavirus as a “Chinese Virus” (Gover et al., 2020). This has led to discrimination of Chinese communities in the USA, propagating racial hate. Consequently, the Chinese are facing hate allegations that they created the virus to act as a bi-weapon against other nations (Nie, 2020). These allegations ignite more discrimination, racial tensions against Chinese nationalities.

Hate crimes due to coronavirus are prevalent throughout the world. Chinese nationalities have occasionally been barred from traveling to different countries to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Besides that, a new wave of covid-19 infections that emerged from Europe led many countries to bar flights from Europe. As such, people from European nations were handled with stricter measures than other parts of the world. There are also reported cases of Chinese who were barred from using some public transport systems in Canada (Wielechowski, Czech and Grzęda, 2020). Many African and Middle East nations also barred flights from Europe and China. Note that hate crimes have also escalated ethnic disparities. Research has shown that African Americans in America receive low-quality medical assistance than whites (Gover et al., 2020). They were in some instances denied Covid-19 testing services to some minority groups. Therefore, Corona Virus has led to the emergence of discrimination among some ethnic groups.

Discrimination across the globe due to the coronavirus is escalated by the media’s spread of bias news. Social media platforms and mainstream media have been at the forefront of publicizing coronavirus (Gover et al., 2020). Some are used as channels to spread bias information regarding covid-19.  For instance, most media globally spread biased information that the coronavirus originated from China to act as a bi-weapon against other nations (Nie, 2020) .This biased information creates a negative picture in the public who figured Chinese as bad people, thus discriminating against them. Besides bias news from the media, myths and stereotypes have led to hate crimes. The virus is believed to affect specific ethnic groups and ages. In the United States, the virus was first believed to affect blacks more than other ethnic communities (Gover et al., 2020). In China, African migrant workers are also blamed for spreading the virus (Xu et al., 2021). Stereotypes and bias information from the media aggregate hate crimes globally

Another factor contributing to the inequality of hate crimes is the belief that Covid -19  is a hoax. This creates segregation between those who believe that the coronavirus exists and those who think it is a hoax. This division creates disagreements between the two groups.  The archaic attitudes, stereotypes believe that the coronavirus and bias news have ignited hate crimes globally, calling for strategies to alleviate hate crimes.

The USA has adopted different task forces in its various states to reduce hate crimes. In New York, the police department has created Asian Hate Crime Task Force to protect Asian Americans from discrimination (Arora & Kim, 2020).  This task force also targets to reduce stereotypes, believes, and the spread of bias information. Therefore Countries should adopt different strategies to curb the increase of hate crimes.

Countries should create mass awareness to curb hate crimes arising due to the coronavirus. Some people discriminate against those infected by the virus due to inadequate information about the virus (Gover et al., 2020). Most people discriminate against Chinese because of existing stereotypes, notions, and bias information. They lack adequate information to counter their beliefs. If countries create public awareness, the masses will be more informed, and hate crimes will reduce.

Governments and relevant organizations should assist the victims of hate crimes.  Coronavirus patients suffering from hate crimes are isolated and subjected to loneliness (Gover et al., 2020). Individuals should provide the necessary support to these victims to provide hope of living to them. Perpetrators of hate crimes will be challenged by the support systems provided, thus preventing future occurrences. Identifying with victims will reduce hate crimes and encourage individuals to take action. Individuals should openly condemn hate crimes from occurring. Opposing hate crimes without airing the voice will not assist. Individuals need to rise and act against the spread of myths associated with the coronavirus.

 In conclusion, the coronavirus has led to an escalated state of hate crimes. These hate crimes have been felt across the globe. Hate crimes result from biased information from the media and stereotypes about the virus, spearheading stigmatization and discrimination. Countries have adopted public awareness to familiarize the media about the coronavirus. Every individual has a responsibility to create awareness by taking direct action and say no to hate crimes.  

References

Arora, M., & Kim, H. (2020). Stopping the Hate: Political Condemnations of Anti-Asian Rhetoric during the COVID-19 Crisis. Journal Of Asian American Studies, 23(3), 387-405. https://doi.org/10.1353/jaas.2020.0031

Gover, A., Harper, S., & Langton, L. (2020). Anti-Asian Hate Crime During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Exploring the Reproduction of Inequality. American Journal Of Criminal Justice, 45(4), 647-667. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12103-020-09545-1

Nie, J. (2020). In the Shadow of Biological Warfare: Conspiracy Theories on the Origins of COVID-19 and Enhancing Global Governance of Biosafety as a Matter of Urgency. Journal Of Bioethical Inquiry, 17(4), 567-574. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11673-020-10025-8

Syed, F., & Nasir, F. (2021). Racialization of Coronavirus and Hate Crimes. Researchgate, (978-1-77369-152-7). Retrieved 13 February 2021, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/347439298_Racialization_of_Coronavirus_and_Hate_Crimes.

Wielechowski, M., Czech, K., & Grzęda, Ł. (2020). Decline in Mobility: Public Transport in Poland in the time of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Economies, 8(4), 78. https://doi.org/10.3390/economies8040078

Xu, J., Sun, G., Cao, W., Fan, W., Pan, Z., Yao, Z., & Li, H. (2021). Stigma, Discrimination, and Hate Crimes in Chinese-Speaking World amid Covid-19 Pandemic. Asian Journal Of Criminology. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11417-020-09339-8