People participate in a protest to demand an end to anti-Asian violence on April 4 in New York City, the US. Photo: VCG

Over 9,000 hate incidents targeting Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) were registered in the United States in the first 15 months of the pandemic, nonprofit Stop AAPI Hate reported.

"The number of hate incidents reported to our center increased from 6,603 to 9,081 during April—June 2021. Of all incident reports, 4,548 hate incidents occurred in 2020 and 4,533 of hate incidents occurred in 2021," the nonprofit said in a report on Thursday.

Verbal harassment accounts for 63.7% of incidents, with shunning and physical assault making up another 16.5% and 13.7% of cases. Online harassment and civil rights violations, including workplace discrimination, refusal of service or transportation, were also reported.

Most hate incidents occurred at public places and targeted women. Half of the cases involved anti-China or anti-immigrant rhetoric, according to the report.

Stop AAPI Hate was established in March 2020 due to escalating xenophobia and bigotry resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The organization is aimed at registering hate incidents against AAPI and supporting the victims.