Anti-Asian hate crime up 717% in Vancouver compared to last year

Reports of anti-Asian hate crime in Vancouver skyrocketed in 2020, increasing 717% compared to 2019.

Those numbers are from the Vancouver Police Department’s end of year report to the Vancouver Police Board being presented on Thursday, February 17.

BC Premier John Horgan called the trend “deeply troubling.”

“Our work includes moving forward on anti-racism legislation, but there’s more for all of us to do in our stand against racism and hate in all its forms,” he tweeted.

Today’s crime stats from Vancouver show anti-Asian hate crimes are up 717% over the past year.

This is deeply troubling.

Our work includes moving forward on anti-racism legislation, but there’s more for all of us to do in our stand against racism and hate in all its forms.

— John Horgan (@jjhorgan) February 18, 2021

The spike in anti-Asian hate crime appears to be in lockstep with the COVID-19 pandemic. The virus that first that first became widespread in China apparently fuelled racist harassment and assaults in Metro Vancouver and around the world.

• See also:
  • Mapping project plots incidents of anti-Asian racism in Metro Vancouver
  • Majority of Chinese-Canadians face racism as result of pandemic: study
  • Chinatown’s Millennium Gate defaced with racist graffiti

The police report also noted a 92% year-over-year increase in hate crime overall.

Intimate partner violence in Vancouver also crept up to an all-time high during the pandemic, increasing 2.4% from last year.

However, police noted a decrease in sexual assault reports in 2020. The force wondered if the closure of bars and nightclubs might be a contributing factor. Total assaults increased by 0.3% in 2020 despite clubs on the Granville Strip being closed for much of the year.

Read the full crime report online.