This week, over in America, the Senate is having conversations to pass a bill called the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act. Proposed by Senator Mazie Hirono, this legislation aims to combat the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes occurring due to the pandemic, and comes almost a month after the racially motivated Atlanta Spa shootings where six of the eight victims were women of Asian descent. 

This issue not only affects the East and South East Asian communities in America, in the UK there has also been a sharp increase in attacks.  “This prejudice has had a huge impact on businesses in Chinatowns across the UK. Local ESEA (East and East Asian)-owned businesses began seeing a decline in business by 50 percent even before the first case of coronavirus was confirmed in the UK.” (Hui, Angela Vice 2021) 

The Students’ Union does not tolerate any forms of hate crimes or hate incidents, which is why the Exeter & Falmouth Speak Out reporting tool is open to both Exeter and Falmouth students and staff.

Personally, I have been advising anyone to report any incident of hate crime – no matter how ‘big’ or ‘small’ because hate motivated attacks can come in many forms, and we take each one incredibly seriously. We fully support #StopAsianHate and will do whatever we can to ensure that all of our Asian communities within Cornwall feel included and safe both on campus and off campus. 

To conclude – what can you do?  

•  Speak out: If you’re witnessing an incident, speak out or intervene to stand up to hate.  
•  Report it: Whether you have been directly involved in an incident or you have witnessed an incident, report it. If somebody is in danger at the time, call 999. Use the reporting tool to notify the Universities and the right support will be allocated to investigate the case further.  
• Research: If you are not a member of the Asian community, it is your responsibility as an ally to conduct your own research and increase your awareness of what is happening. 
• Listen: Your support is crucial. These stories are very real, so listen to your Asian peers and do not invalidate their experiences. 

If you want to speak to the SU about this issue, feel free to either speak to me, to the SU’s Liberation Committee, Melissa Muchema our Racial Equality Part-Time Officer or the Asian Society.  

Charlotte Agnew, President Welfare & Inclusivity 

Vish Medtia, President, Asian Society 

Melissa Muchema, Racial Equality Part-Time Officer  

List of resources: 

“This Is What Anti-Asian Hate Looks Like in the UK”: https://www.vice.com/en/article/4adzeb/anti-asian-hate-crimes-uk  

“What you can do to fight violence and racism against Asian Americans”: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/what-you-can-do-to-fight-violence-and-racism-against-asian-americans  

Falmouth and Exeter Speak Out: https://www.exeter.ac.uk/speakout/report/cornwall/  

Student Support (FXPlus Living Support and Wellbeing Teams): https://www.fxplus.ac.uk/students/student-services/student-support-living-support-and-wellbeing-teams