Anti-Asian racism in Canada: Lived experiences, impact on mental health, and access to services and support
Author
The Action, Chinese Canadians Together (ACCT) Foundation
Location
National
Context
People of Asian descent have contributed to the development of Canada since the 1700s. Despite this, they have been subjected to racial discrimination ranging from interpersonal to structural, examples include denial of voting rights, denial of employment and internment. Their experiences with violence and discrimination throughout the COVID-19 pandemic have heightened public awareness of anti-Asian racism.
This study examined respondents’ experiences with anti-Asian racism and its impact on their well-being, their patterns of accessing informal support and formal services following racist incidents and recommended strategies to prevent and address anti-Asian racism.
Data collection used both quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative data was gathered using an online survey. Five hundred and thirteen (513) respondents from across Canada completed a survey and interviews were done with 32 individuals, individually or in small groups.
Findings
Survey respondents experienced between one and five racist incidents, with an average of four incidents, in the last five years. Incidents included being blamed for spreading COVID-19 (68.3%), denial of services (63.4%), unfair treatment at work or by people of authority (64.4%), verbal abuse (49.1%), being harassed or threatened by police or security guards (32.4%), and physical attacks (32.8%).
Settings where racist incidents occurred included stores, banks, restaurants, public areas such as parks or sidewalks, when applying for jobs or promotions, public transportation, social gatherings or when attending school or classes, accessing health care services and when seeking or applying for housing as renters or buyers.
Seven out of 10 respondents (71.5%) recognized negative changes in their cognition and mood, including thinking about themselves or other people negatively, blaming themselves or other people who were not involved in the racist incidents, or having ongoing negative feelings such as fear, horror, anger, guilt or shame.
More than six out of 10 respondents (65.0%) indicated they had experienced physiological arousal and reactivity, such as tearfulness, restlessness, fidgety, anxiety, paranoia, worry or distractedness.
More than half of the respondents, did not access informal support or formal services. For those who sought help, 48.2% turned to their friends and family members for support and 21.4% accessed formal services offered by a program or an organization.
Among those who sought formal help, they accessed programs and services offered by ethnic community organizations which was the most common (38.7%), followed by those provided by mainstream organizations (20.2%), immigrant serving agencies (17.8%).
How does this research apply to my work?
Recommended strategies for preventing anti-Asian racism
- Deliver anti-racist education that supports community members to examine their beliefs and implicit and explicit biases.
- Organize public and social media campaigns to raise awareness about anti-Asian racism.
- Support Asian Canadians to speak up about their experiences.
- Ask community leaders to champion and promote diversity and racial equity.
- Advocate for fair representation of Asian Canadians and reporting on their experiences in the media.
- Allocate and advocate for equitable funding for anti-Asian racism work.
- Collect and use data to inform anti-racism policies and actions.
- Examine and address systemic anti-Asian racism in Canadian institutions.
Recommended services and support for Asian Canadians to deal with the impact of anti-Asian racism
- Organize mutual support groups.
- Offer free trauma-informed counselling or coaching.
- Facilitate access to advocates, ombudspersons and resources.
- Offer support for reporting racist incidents and accessing legal assistance.
- Offer support in natural settings, such as at community centres and religious gathering places.
- Develop restorative justice programs.
- Have in place crisis lines and clinics dedicated to people who have experienced anti-Asian racism.
Next Steps
This research was phase one of a three year project to increase the capacity of settlement and community organizations to deliver coordinated, anti-racism services to meet the needs of immigrants who experience racial trauma.
A 15 hour training program was developed to offer participants in-depth knowledge about anti-Asian racism and its impact on Asian Canadians’ wellbeing. Participants will also develop practical skills to support victims of racism.
To learn more, contact ACCT Foundation at events@acctfoundation.ca