The Human Rights Commission says there's been a sharp rise in racism in the middle of the pandemic. The proportion of race-related complaints to the Humans Rights Commission include:•30 percent Chinese/Asian•28 percent Muslims•14 percent Indians•5 percent Māori and PasifikaAccording to the Human Rights Commission, traditionally Chinese/Asians do not normally report complaints due to cultural barriers, which was highlighted as particularly concerning. The Human Rights Commission noted complaints of racial harassment were happening online via social media, and indifferent treatment for customers of Asian descent in supermarkets. He said people should not tolerate the ill-treatment of others and encouraged people to record and report any racism to the Human Rights Commission. The Human Rights Commission was also proposing a survey for Chinese/Asian to collect data of experiences of racism during the crisis in response to the dearth of evidence.

Source: Otago Daily Times May 02, 2020 23:15 UTC