ABSTRACT
Stigmatisation and racial discrimination are two closely related theoretical concepts which share some commonalities but are also different from each other in terms of their disciplinary origin and research tradition. Recent trends in health research show that there has been growing interest to merge these two concepts together to research their relationships with negative health outcomes. Under an epidemic or pandemic context, these two concepts have been regarded as a close correlation – stigmatisation as a cause of racial discrimination. Within the COVID-19 context, stigmatisation of COVID-19 has been often associated with China and Chinese/Asian-looking people, resulting in racist attacks, especially in some Western countries. The situation in New Zealand is comparatively better but Asian people still have experienced certain degrees of racial discrimination associated from stigmatisation as the blame for the cause of the COVID-19 outbreak. Based on a quantitative online survey in the Asian community and in-depth interviews with 22 Asian people, this chapter will illustrate Asian experiences of racial discrimination and stigmatisation during the pandemic in New Zealand.
