Across the globe, there has been a surge in race-related hate incidents as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Such incidents include micro-aggressions, bullying, harassment, hate speech, and violence.
Preventive measures are imperative to counter similar racist and xenophobic incidents in the workplace as employees return to work in the coming months and should be part of a comprehensive operational plan for returning to work.
Racism on the Rise
According to Human Rights Watch, the COVID-19 pandemic is fueling racism and xenophobia worldwide. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said that “the pandemic continues to unleash a tsunami of hate and xenophobia, scapegoating and scare-mongering.… We must act now to strengthen the immunity of our societies against the virus of hate.”
