COVID-19 associated discrimination in Germany: Realistic and symbolic threats

The contribution focusses on Covid-19 associated discrimination (CAD) in Germany and asks whether immigrants from Asian origin are increasingly discriminated against during the COVID-19 pandemic and whether other immigrant groups face similar threats. Using data from the COVID-19 add-on-survey for CILS4EU-DE (CILS4COVID), we demonstrate that immigrants from Asian origin report an increasing CAD during the pandemic, which is more pronounced for respondents residing in administrative districts with a more dynamic COVID-19 situation. Similar results can be found for respondents originating from both American continents and from countries of the former Soviet Union. Given that COVID-19 was first reported in Asia, but with rather low number of infections later on, and the rather high infection rates on both American continents and in Russia, we conclude that CAD experienced by these groups might happen in a reaction to both realistic and symbolic threats posed by the virus.