#homeroom

May 18, 2021

80% OF ASIAN AMERICANS HAVE EXPERIENCED BULLYING, NEW BULLYING SURVEY FINDS

Act To Change, NextShark, and Admerasia release bullying report revealing surge in bullying during COVID-19 pandemic

Today, national anti-bullying nonprofit Act To Change, in partnership with Asian American news outlet NextShark and advertising agency Admerasia, has released the 2021 Asian American Bullying Survey Report that measures the impact of bullying, awareness, and prevention measures in the Asian American community. 

This report is released on the third annual National AAPI Day Against Bullying and Hate, led by Act To Change, bringing together more than 40 cities and states, 300 community organizations, and dozens of elected officials and influencers to stand against bullying and hate in the AAPI community.

Survey findings highlight a dramatic rise in bullying in 2020 among Asian American youth. For many Asian American youth, many are less likely to report bullying incidences or have access to resources. Key observations from the study include:

• The bullying of Asian American youth is astonishingly normalized. 80% of Asian Americans have experienced bullying, in-person, or online. 
• Cyberbullying affecting Asian Americans in 2020, exacerbated by COVID-19, surged. 70% of Asian American youth experienced or witnessed an increase in cyberbullying in 2020.
• Asian Americans are significantly less likely to report bullying to an adult than their peers are, potentially due to cultural barriers and lack of trust in adults and schools. 38% of Asian Americans told an adult about the bullying, compared to 63% of non-Asian Americans. 
• Parents, caregivers, and educators of Asian American youth lack the necessary knowledge or tools to handle and fight the bullying. Only 50% of adults took action after learning someone was bullied.

The survey was based on responses by more than 300 Asian American youth. 

To prevent and tackle bullying among youth, particularly with the rise of anti-Asian hate, Act To Change and partners recommend action in the following areas: 

• Spreading awareness and educating the public about the prevalence, severity, and impact of anti-Asian bullying on students, and call for change.
• Developing easily shareable and accessible resources/toolkits and school curriculums for Asian American children/teens, their caregivers and parents.
• Crafting programs that provide mental health and consultation services for bullied Asian American children who need help. 
• Continuing the much-needed work in data collection and data disaggregation for Asian Americans. Comprehensive data is critical to representing the vast diversity of experiences in the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.

Act To Change is a national nonprofit organization working to end bullying among AAPI youth. It envisions a world where all youth can grow up feeling proud of and supported in who they are. 

Admerasia, founded in 1993, is an American advertising agency that has played a critical role in developing technologies to aid Asian American communities and businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

NextShark, founded in 2013, is a leading source of Asian American news and culture reaching 15 million people per week on social media. They have been on the forefront of reporting how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Asian communities and businesses around the globe, sharing community initiatives for recovery, and promoting minority community solidarity against racial injustice.

For Immediate Release

December 2, 2020

Act To Change, a national nonprofit organization working to address bullying among Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) youth, is hosting its first series of Homeroom x Tan France, anti-bullying workshops and virtual school visits with TV personality Tan France. After the COVID-19 pandemic led to a sharp spike in cases of bullying and racism against the AAPI community, Act To Change created this initiative to increase awareness of bullying prevention and teach kids to become active anti-bullying advocates in their schools.

AAPI youth face bullying for a number of reasons, and unique cultural, religious, and language barriers can keep them from getting help. Misinformation around the spread of the COVID-19 virus, coupled with inflammatory political rhetoric, exacerbated bullying experienced by AAPI youth this year. Within three months, over 2000 cases of anti-Asian hate, violence and discrimination were reported to Stop AAPI Hate.

“Bullying is a universal problem. Kids who are perceived as ‘different’ are often ridiculed and targeted by their peers,” said Tan France. “Through our Homeroom series, Act To Change aims to ensure that kids have the resources they need to be advocates against bullying within their schools and communities. Teaching our youth to be strong and vocal about this issue from a young age is crucial in keeping them safe.”

France joined the Act To Change Advisory Council in July 2020, and was among many AAPI leaders who joined United We Stand, a virtual event hosted by the organization to mark the second annual AAPI Day Against Bullying and Hate in May 2020.

Nominations for 6-12th grade schools were collected for the Homeroom workshops, and ten schools have been selected for the first round of workshops. Seven students and one faculty member from each school will participate in the workshop led by Tan France. The selected schools are:

• Ambassador School of Global Leadership , Los Angeles, CA
• Andrew P. Hill High School, San Jose, CA
• Brighton High School, Brighton, CO
• Da Vinci RISE High School, Los Angeles, CA
• DreamHouse Ewa Beach, Kalaeloa, HI
• The Head-Royce School, Oakland, CA
• Inglemoor High School, Kenmore, WA
• Kansas City Girls Preparatory Academy, Kansas City, MO
• Salt Lake Center for Science Education, Salt Lake City, Utah
• Uplift Heights Secondary Preparatory, Dallas, TX

Following the workshop, all schools will hold a virtual or in-person assembly focused on bullying prevention, and take on two or more of the following actions within this school year:

• Gather books highlighting Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)  experiences from the school library and display it in a public location (virtually or in-person)
• Include a BIPOC book in its curriculum
• Celebrate Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
• Host a faculty meeting surrounding the question: “What can our school do to prevent bullying and racism?”

During National Bullying Prevention Month in October, Act To Change held its Youth Rising conference, where France previewed the Homeroom series in a panel with student representatives from several of the selected schools.

Homeroom x Tan France is one of the several ways Act To Change has responded to the rise in xenophobia, and the organization plans to host multiple rounds of Homeroom series going into 2021.

Through the generous support of HarperCollins and Macmillan Publishers, Act To Change will provide each school a shelf of books written by BIPOC authors as part of the Homeroom series.

Act To Change is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working to address bullying, including in the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community.

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