Playing cricket earlier this year, Anthony was standing at the crease waiting for a bowl when he heard a member of the opposite team repeatedly call out "coronavirus".
Key points:
- A survey has shown 84.5 per cent of Asian Australians have faced discrimination this year
- Nevertheless, the general population's trust in Asian Australians is high
- The study found Asian Australians were more anxious about COVID-19 than people in the wider population
"I was trying to concentrate and so I thought it would be better to just ignore him," Anthony, who is of mixed Chinese and English heritage, told the ABC.
"At no time did any of his teammates pull him up, nor did the captain of my own team say anything."
A new study from the Australian National University (ANU) has found Anthony's experience of discrimination is a troublingly typical one for someone of Asian descent in Australia during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ANU survey of more than 3,000 people found 84.5 per cent of Asian Australians reported at least one instance of discrimination between January and October this year.
"I have copped racism all my life and it is up and down dependent on political rhetoric or negative media coverage focusing on minority groups," Anthony said.
"It just happens it's China's turn again."
Earlier this year, the ABC was contacted by hundreds of people who shared their experiences of discrimination during the pandemic.
Asian Australians, particularly of Chinese heritage, reported an increase in abuse and racist attacks because the coronavirus was first detected in China.
"Despite being born in Melbourne, discrimination has been a big part of my life due to my ethnicity," Jieh-Yung Lo, director of the ANU Centre for Asian-Australian Leadership, said.
"From outright racism in the school playgrounds, coming face to face with the 'bamboo ceiling' during early parts of my professional career, dealing with unconscious bias in the workplace, and in recent years having my allegiance and loyalty to Australia challenged and questioned due to my contribution to the public debate on Australia's bilateral relationship with China."
Some have expressed concern about Liberal senator Eric Abetz questioning three Chinese Australians about their view of the Chinese Communist Party during a recent Senate committee hearing focused on diversity in Australian politics.
Asian Australians worse off economically, but better trusted
The ANU survey found Asian Australians were more likely to have their livelihoods adversely affected by COVID-19 and they were more anxious about the pandemic than Australians overall.
They saw their working hours drop five hours between February and April — twice the rest of the Australian population (2.4 hours).
The study's authors said this was partly because Asian Australians were younger and more likely to live in urban areas and work in industries impacted by lockdowns.
"[But] we cannot discount the effect of labour market discrimination as well," co-author Nicholas Biddle, from the ANU Centre for Social Research Methods, told the ABC.
Some 80.7 per cent of Asian Australians reported being anxious and worried due to coronavirus in October, compared to 62.4 per cent of the rest of the Australian population.
"Asian Australians have fared worse during the COVID-19 period than the rest of the Australian population," Mr Lo said.
Mr Lo said their experience with prior viruses, such as the SARS epidemic, had seen Asian Australians being "more vigilant" about COVID-19 while they also faced "the rise and resurgence of xenophobia and racism" including physical and verbal assaults.
Nevertheless, Professor Biddle said Australians were more likely to think Asian Australians were "trusted" and "fair".
About 65 per cent of the Australian population reported high trust in Asian Australians, compared with 55 per cent who had high trust in Anglo Australians.
"Having more Asian Australians take on senior leadership roles across our parliaments, media outlets, public and corporate boardrooms have the abilities to change perceptions, break down stereotypes and instil greater trust and confidence across our society," Mr Lo said.
"The opportunity to serve in senior leadership roles also helps Asian Australians and other diverse groups to shed the 'outsiders' and 'migrants' label."
The Australian Human Rights Commission reports less than 5 per cent of Australians of Asian heritage make it to senior executive levels and only 1.6 per cent become CEOs.
"Absent of COVID-19, governments have a responsibility to carefully design and enforce anti-discrimination laws," Professor Biddle said.
"Rhetoric matters. We all have responsibilities to make sure we choose our words carefully, do not target groups for negative treatment based on their ethnic background, and take time to get to know our fellow Australians as individuals, not as stereotypes."
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2020-11-01 19:19:00Z
CBMia2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmFiYy5uZXQuYXUvbmV3cy8yMDIwLTExLTAyL2FzaWFuLWF1c3RyYWxpYW5zLXN1ZmZlci1jb3ZpZC0xOS1kaXNjcmltaW5hdGlvbi1hbnUtc3VydmV5LzEyODM0MzI00gEnaHR0cHM6Ly9hbXAuYWJjLm5ldC5hdS9hcnRpY2xlLzEyODM0MzI0
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