ECPAT-USA is horrified by the deadly shootings at three Atlanta area massage establishments that occurred last week. Of the eight who were tragically killed, six were Asian and all but one were women. We extend our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of the victims.

In a press conference discussing the incident, officials said they believe that the shooter may have a history with the locations he targeted. The gunman allegedly stated that he opened fire on the massage establishments not because they were Asian businesses, but because he was battling a “sex addiction” and wanted to eliminate the temptation for sexual services. Reports are mixed as to whether or not the locations provided illicit services, but neither finding would justify this senseless slaughter. In the words of Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, “We are not about to get into victim-blaming, victim-shaming here.” 

Committing a rampage against Asian massage businesses because they offer “temptation” underscores a fetishization and hypersexualization of Asian American women that reduces them to objects, existing only for the sexual pleasure of others. Such a reduction ignores the humanity of the murdered six women, who, in their lifetimes, had been caretakers, mothers, friends, and business owners.

The fetishization of the “other” fuels the demand for commercial sex. This, combined with the pre-existing racial and economic disparities, creates a society where Asian immigrants and Asian Americans, as with other marginalized groups, lack options and opportunities. The past year has seen a renewed awareness of the role racism plays in the systemic victimization of Black and Brown bodies. The Atlanta assassinations underscore that racism against the Asian community is likewise lethal.

When authorities describe these murders as the product of someone battling a “sex addiction,” they ignore the misogynistic and racist context in which these murders occurred. This dismissive interpretation is no different than the sense of entitlement and misogyny that results in sex buyers exerting their “right” to exploit children in order to fulfill their sexual needs. Never mind the eight people who lost their lives as a result of, what one officer quipped was, a “bad day.”

These incidents are not isolated. Asian immigrants and Asian American communities have increasingly been the victims of violent attacks since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly 3,800 reports of discrimination against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders were made last year to Stop AAPI Hate, a group that tracks incidents of violence and harassment against these communities. 

Discrimination against Asians in the United States is nothing new in our country’s history. But we can no longer allow our society to minimize the violence and harm fueled by insidious racism and overlook the racist threats and crimes being leveled against Asian immigrants and Asian Americans. The time to create systemic change addressing these issues is now.

Please join ECPAT-USA’s Director of Private Sector Engagement Yvonne Chen tomorrow for a deeper examination of this urgent subject.