In the corona year 2020, the number of discrimination related reports has risen sharply. Eindhoven stands out in the East Brabant region.
This is apparent from a report based on figures from discrimination hotlines and the police. In 2020, there was an increase in anti-Asian racism, among other things. This is because the coronavirus originally broke out in China. People of East Asian appearance seem to be seen as ‘the other’ by part of the population, the report said. As a result, the number of discrimination incidents targeting people of Asian appearance increased.
Origin and skin colour are the most common basis on which people are discriminated against. In East Brabant, the number of discrimination reports is increasing by about 150%.
Song of Radio 10
A large part of the discrimination is caused by Radio 10’s song entitled ‘Prevention is better than the Chinese’. The song insults Chinese people and blames them for the corona crisis, the report said. Many song related reports are also received in Eindhoven. But apart from these reports, the number of discrimination reports in East Brabant still increases by 33%.
In 2020, a total of 256 Eindhoven residents reported discrimination. There were 89 reports of discrimination incidents in the municipality and the police registered 95 discrimination incidents.
Compared to population
Although the number of reports or incidents is compared to the number of inhabitants, discrimination in East Brabant is most common in Eindhoven. For example, there were 1.11 reports per 1000 inhabitants, and 0.38 discriminatory incident took place in the city.
The number is larger than that in Veldhoven and Den Bosch, being 0.49 and 0.47 per 1000 inhabitants respectively. The number of discrimination incidents is also the highest in the Brabant capital after Eindhoven, with 0.33 incidents per 1000 inhabitants. Police reports about discrimination show the same picture.
Black Lives Matter
The authors of the report note that the Black Lives Matter movement is paying more attention to discrimination and racism. However, it is unclear to what extent this will affect the final figures. In general, only a small proportion of discrimination cases are reported, and the actual number is (much) higher.
Discrimination also happens in other areas apart from origin and skin colour. For example, in Eindhoven, 18 incidents relates to people with disability being discriminated. There were also cases relates to religion, gender, sexual orientation and age.
Source: Studio040
Translator: Shufei
