We stand in support and solidarity with all our Chinese, East Asian and South East Asian communities in Toronto and across the country. We commit to actively fight daily microaggressions and hatred against women and sex workers, racism and all forms of misogyny and discrimination that continue to oppress our neighbourhoods and society as a whole. To actively put an end to the circumstances that prevent communities from being safe, prosperous and places for people to reach their potential and thrive, it is not an option to do nothing, especially during these times of escalated, targeted violence. We can act and fight this together.
The horrendous, egregious and appalling violence in Georgia demonstrates the significant intersection of hatred toward women, Anti- Chinese and Asian violence and other forms of oppression. Canada, and Toronto, are as challenged and not immune to this type of hatred and violence as recently highlighted in the report released by Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice (CCNCSJ).
According to this report:
- 40% of all incidents reported were in Ontario, second only to BC with 44%;
- 1150 incidents of anti-East Asian racism have been reported since COVID-19, reported through two websites, COVIDRacism.ca and elimin8hate.org, between March 10, 2020, and Feb. 28, 2021;
- 60% of victims identified as women;
- 11% of cases included violent physical assault or unwanted contact;
- 10% of cases included being coughed or spat on;
- one fifth of all racist attacks/incidents occur on our streets, in public spaces and food spaces such as grocery stores;
- almost one third of reported incidents (30%) involved a form of assault, including targeted coughing, spitting or physical violence.
What We Can Do:
We can all act. See below on where we can start.
- Report racist incidents here: https://www.covidracism.ca/
- Visit Chinese Canadian National Council for Social Justice to learn more about the report and how to act
- Access information here: https://www.covidracism.ca/resources
- Learn more on how Toronto is fighting Racism against Chinese and East Asians here: https://www.toronto.ca/…/toront…/anti-east-asian-racism/
- Learn more about or join action-oriented campaigns: #StopAsianHateToronto, #EndAsianHateCrimes #StopAsianHate, www.elimin8hate.org, #FaceRace
- Community members in need of support can call 211, a free, 24 hour helpline supported by United Way
