Hate crime in time of the Corona

The news of the novel virus first reached the world when the World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed the first case in China on December 31, 2019. As the danger it posed to the public grew and the virus spread first across China, then to Europe and the rest of the world, so did the public fear of the virus. Along with this global health and economic threat, there have been media reports of an increase in hate crimes committed against those perceived to be Chinese and/or East Asian, where the attacker explicitly mentioned the Coronavirus as a motive. Our objective is to evaluate whether the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in an increase in anti-Chinese and/or anti-East Asian (AC/AEA) hate crimes in the United Kingdom (UK) and what are the mechanisms behind it.