White House Announces New Actions To Curb Anti-Asian Violence

President Joe Biden’s administration on Tuesday announced new actions to curb the rise in violence and discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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"Today's announcements are additional steps in the Biden Administration's work to advance equity for AAPI communities through a whole-of-government approach to racial justice," the White House said.

Biden will appoint a permanent Director to lead the Initiative in the coordination of policies across the federal government AAPI communities. The Justice Department reconvened its Hate Crimes Enforcement and Prevention Initiative with a focus on the surge in anti-Asian hate crimes in the country.

The FBI will also publish a new interactive page that documents hate crimes against the AAPI community and begin holding training events to educate agents on recognizing and reporting anti-Asian bias.

The Health Department is providing nearly US$50 million from the American Rescue Plan to assist AAPI survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault.

The COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force has also established a subcommittee on Structural Drivers of Health Inequity and Xenophobia, which will be specifically focused on combating the surge in anti-Asian bias during the pandemic. The National Endowment for the Humanities also launched a virtual library to expand resources and provide information on Asian-American history.

The White House has faced pressure to take more concrete measures to fight the rampant anti-Asian violence, especially in the wake of the shootings killing six Asian American women and two others in the Atlanta area on March 16.

The “Stop AAPI Hate”, a California-based NGO tracking incidents of violence against Asian Americans, received nearly 3,800 reports of attack or abuse against people of Asian descent between March 2020 and February 2021.