South Korean pop group BTS has posted a letter expressing its support for the Stop Asian Hate movement that has arisen as a result of increased frequency in instances of hate crimes against Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders.

“There was so much anger and pain that was being expressed,” she said, trying to hold back tears. “It wasn’t just me, it was what this mistake represented for so many people.”

New data has revealed over the past year, the number of anti-Asian hate incidents — which can include shunning, slurs and physical attacks — is greater than previously reported. And a disproportionate number of attacks have been directed at women.

To combat the current rise in harassment and discrimination and to also proactively prepare for the future increase of hate incidents, Advancing Justice | Chicago is partnering with New York-based nonprofit Hollaback! and CAIR-Chicago to plan and implement an aggressive scaling up of locally-led bystander hate incident intervention trainings for community members.