There have been too many news reports of COVID-19 prompting racial abuse: A Chinese woman was spat on in a Sydney street, two students bashed in the Melbourne CBD, a family’s home vandalised — to list just a few.
But the story that struck me most was Jennifer Li’s. She has been an Australian citizen for 15 years, having migrated from China.
She had rarely experienced racism until COVID-19 struck. So in early April when Jennifer was physically and verbally assaulted in a racial attack, she was shocked.
That shock grew into fear and outrage as she was racially abused three more times over the next four days, including with threatening messages left on her mobile phone. The police were unable to make a prosecution.
Jennifer told me about her abuse in a series of emails last month, and I felt solidarity as a Chinese-Australian.
A third of all new complaints relate to COVID-19
Although anecdotal evidence and media reports suggest COVID-19 has prompted a spike in racism, there is very little data available that can provide a more detailed picture of what is happening.
In February, the Commission recorded more complaints under the Racial Discrimination Act than at any time over the past twelve months. Since then the rate of complaints has been within the usual range, albeit towards the high end.
One third of all racism complaints made to the Commission since the start of February have been related to COVID-19.
This information has