Victimization, Asian American

According to data reported by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2007, 14.9 million U.S. residents were Asian, or Asian in combination with other races—the third largest minority group in the country. Although the Asian community is growing, Asian immigrants and their descendants are still vulnerable to racially motivated crimes. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) began collecting hate crime data in 1991 after the Hate Crimes Statistics Act of 1990 was enacted, yet the extent of Asian victimization has not been well documented due to reporting deficiencies at the state level. Until 2002, 11 states had not compiled hate crime statistics on a consistent basis, including Alaska, Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, and New Mexico, and six others. The reluctance of Asian victims to report crimes to the police, especially those who are newcomers and illegal immigrants, has also contributed to the underreporting of Asian victimization in the United States. Although some victims' legal status and language ability dispose them to contact the authorities, a lack of confidence in the police and fears of retaliation also contribute to the community's relative tolerance of racially motivated crimes. Indeed, among all ethnic groups in the country, Asians are least likely to report crimes to the police.

Most crimes committed against Asians in the United States are racially motivated. Although the Chinese Exclusion Act (1882) was repealed in 1943, resentment of Asians has never been completely eradicated from American society. Anti-Asian biases and hostilities certainly have a historical basis, though the specific targets of those biases have changed as American political and social cultures have evolved—that is, such hostility is socially constructed. For instance, after the events of September 11, 2001, Arab Americans, Muslim Americans, and South Asian Americans became new targets of hate crimes. Those who perpetrate hate crimes against Asians might be motivated by different reasons, but personal prejudice against Asians is the most important contributing factor. As a matter of fact, anti-Asian crimes are mostly committed by Whites who hold notions of racial superiority, even if resentments and conflicts between Asians and other ethnic minorities also exist.

Anti-Asian crimes are more likely to involve an attack against an individual—including intimidation, simple assault, and aggravated assault— though various forms of crimes against property also frequently occurred, including destruction, [Page 847]theft, and arson. Research indicates that it might be overly simplistic to attribute hate crimes to organized criminal groups known to harbor racially biased ideologies. In fact, the majority of racially motivated offenders were not affiliated with criminal organizations. Rather, most crimes were committed by otherwise law-abiding individuals or a loose band of residents in a particular neighborhood. For this reason, one of the distinguishing features of anti-Asian crimes is that victims were mostly attacked in or near their homes or business venues.

Asians' victimization is closely correlated to victims' immigrant status, age, gender, place of residence, and income. Comparatively, the newcomers (both legal and illegal immigrants) of the country were more likely to be the targets of anti-Asian crime. Interestingly, the victimization rate is unbalanced among different age groups: highest among people who were between 12 and 24; victimization rates gradually decrease with age. Gender differences in victimization are also significant. Except for rape and sexual assault, Asian males are more vulnerable to hate crimes than are Asian females. Although victimization in the form of simple assault has been constant across geographical location and people's incomes, with respect to serious violent crimes, including rape, sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated assault, the victimization is geographically and economically related: Urban Asian communities have higher victimization rates than do suburban and rural communities, and people who have less income are more likely to be victimized.

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