By Jamie Cho, Ph.D., and Joyce Shui, Esq.
When the court issues a 10-year protection order to safeguard a victim-survivor from persistent and racist harassment, one could reasonably assume the survivor has the law on their side, that they will feel safer in their home, and that the police will protect the survivor. However, a protection order is paper-thin when the court, police, Homeowner’s Association (HOA), and neighbors do not acknowledge their responsibility to ensure the safety of the survivor.
Note written by victim-survivor
The survivor’s family (Asian American immigrants) purchased a home in the community almost two decades ago. The harassment began in early 2022 when the survivor left a note (see image) on the upstairs neighbor’s door, asking her to stop blocking the survivor’s garage. Retaliatory harassment started that night with heavy, violent pounding on the survivor’s ceiling. The pounding, in the middle of the night, continued for over a year, causing medical issues for the survivor and her mother. By the next year, that white neighbor (who had significant power as the HOA president) had dumped trash in front of her garage, drove a car at high speed at the survivor, and yelled, “Your little mask won’t save you, stupid. Fuck you. Don’t mess with me. I hope you die, you chink.”
Not able or willing to endure the harassment and threats to her and her elderly mother’s safety, the survivor and her mother fled their home. On moving day, the racist neighbor yelled, “one down, one to go” (there are two Asian American immigrant homeowners in the neighborhood who have been targeted) and pounded on the survivor’s ceiling a final time to drive home the message of her unchecked power.
The abuse was so persistent and frightening that the survivor sought protection from the court. The court granted a one-year order and, due to continued misconduct, later extended the order for 10 additional years. The court directed the abuser and household members to stop interfering with the survivor’s garage access. However, the racist woman (the court removed her from the HOA board) and her partner continued to defy the judge’s orders. When police were called to enforce the order protecting garage access, the white officer engaged exclusively with the partner (a terminated police officer), refused to speak with the survivor, and declined to document the violation.
The police support of the racist white couple and marginalization of the survivor, whom he deemed not worthy of even being spoken with, underscores how racialized, gendered dynamics work to embolden the racist couple. Despite years of abuse and two protection orders, the couple’s misconduct was summarily dismissed by a police officer who shared their racial identity, gender, and profession. In an effort to hold the police accountable to the intent of the court, another motion was filed to ask the court to clarify its order. Despite the ongoing harm which the survivor tried unsuccessfully to enlist police support for, the court declined to clarify its order, ruling “[T]he protections [already] ordered are sufficient to prevent further harm, if the respondent violates the order, there are remedies.”
This statement illustrates the judicial system’s myopic view of what is “sufficient.” The ruling trivializes years of duress caused by racism, fails to appreciate the massive hurdles to seeking “remedies” (almost two years of court hearings and failed calls to the police), and the bias that allows racist abusers to avoid accountability. Survivors furthest from justice deserve meaningful and timely protection, not a paper shield, giving only performative protection to survivors.
Despite moving out of her home, the survivor has had to continue paying monthly expenses (e.g., HOA dues, mortgage, taxes, and utilities). To offset the financial hardship, the survivor requested an exception from the HOA board to rent out her home (which is permitted at the board’s discretion when an owner has a “hardship”). Upon the HOA’s request for documentation of the hardship, the survivor also provided 70+ pages of court documents and orders documenting the survivor’s victimization and loss of her ability to live in her home.
The HOA board declined the exception, stating that an “unexpected loss of a job” would be a hardship, whereas the well documented, much more impactful hardship—survivor’s sudden loss of safety in her home, loss of her mother weeks after they fled from the abuse, and heavy ongoing financial losses (of an empty unit for almost two years)—were not hardships worthy of an exception. The HOA board further insults the survivor by characterizing her victimization as a “dispute between neighbors.” Calling a victim of racial violence a party to a dispute is heartless and cruel, akin to blaming a domestic violence victim for their injuries.
If surviving racism is not a hardship, then no one should qualify.
Maya Angelou said, “When someone shows you who they are, believe them.” When someone has shown they are a racist, believe it. Those entrusted with protecting and serving the community should recognize the abuser for who they are and grant relief to the survivor.
Whether you hold a paid position as a police officer or judge, serve in a volunteer capacity as an HOA board member, or are a general community member, you have power. We must all reflect on our collective responsibility and recognize that this could happen to anyone- your auntie, grandmother, daughter, or neighbor. This is a call to action to stand up for what is right, to own your power to intervene, and to put an end to racist harassment and abuse.
Jamie Cho, Ph.D. is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Justice in Early Learning at the University of Washington. She is associated with this case and has written declarations to the court that explains the racialized interactions of this case.
Joyce Shui, J.D. is a technology attorney and manages a compliance team at SAP. She is a former vice president of the board of directors of the Bellevue School District with focus on racial and gender equity. The opinions expressed are hers and not necessarily those of any organizations with which she is associated.
It is unacceptable that someone, who continues to be the victim-survivor of such blatant racist behavior from neighbors, policies and law, has not been protected or listened too when she has asked for help. I support the call to action for people to use their power to stand up and demand accountability and end racist harassment and abuse. We can’t continue living in a world where racist acts like this one exist and nobody is using their power to stop the abuse.