The Power of Collaboration – BC RCMP Hosts an Asian Hate Awareness Forum
Burnaby, B.C., BC Hate Crimes
2023-05-24 14:00 PDT
On May 17th, 2023, the RCMP in BC hosted prominent members of the Asian community along with local politicians, community organizations, other partner agencies, and members of the RCMP for the Power of Collaboration, an Asian Hate Awareness forum.
It was an opportunity to hear people speak from the heart and share their stories of racially motivated crimes so that we might learn from these experiences and work collaboratively to grow as a community and fight back against racism.
May has been designated Asian Heritage Month, and the week of May 14th-20th, has been recognized as Victims and Survivors of Crime Week. For too many Asian communities in Canada, anti-Asian racism is a daily lived reality. Now, more than ever, and not just during Asian Heritage Month, we need to raise awareness of the challenges faced by these communities across Canada and to confront and denounce all forms of anti-Asian racism and discrimination.
Staff Sergeant Frank Jang of the BC RCMP Criminal Operations, who led the initiative, deemed it important to t have open dialogue surrounding the increase in hate crimes directed specifically at the Asian community as a by-product of the Covid-19 pandemic.
We see people of Asian heritage being subjected to overt and subtle racist stereotypes, and it is at individual and systemic levels,
said Staff Sgt. Frank Jang. During the pandemic we saw people of Asian descent constantly being perceived as a threat, facing violence, online hate, and the subject of numerous racist depictions on social media.
Held in Burnaby, the event was attended by 140 invited delegates. Speakers included the BC Hate Crime Team whose mandate is the identification, investigation and prosecution of crimes motivated by hate and to provide education on hate crimes. Burnaby RCMP Victim Services was also on hand. This was followed by a panel discussion and the sharing of experiences from a range of individuals. The key note speaker for the event was Mr. Winston Sayson, who served as a trial Crown Counsel with the BC Prosecution Service. Mr. Sayson immigrated from the Phillipines with his family in 1981. He shared his experiences and challenges establishing him and gaining respect as a trial lawyer in a westernized environment.
The key take away from the forum was the need to raise awareness of the challenges faced by these communities across Canada and that collectively we need to confront and denounce all forms of anti-Asian racism and discrimination.
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BC RCMP Communications
(778) 290-2929
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