\nBy Kiara Alfonseca <\/em>
\nMay 5, 2021<\/em><\/p>\n
Excerpt:<\/em><\/p>\n Vilma Kari, 65, was brutally attacked in broad daylight while walking to church in\u00a0New York City<\/a>\u00a0on March 29. The suspect, Brandon Elliot, allegedly kicked Kari in the face and knocked her to the ground where he continued to stomp on her near Manhattan’s Times Square, according to the New York Police Department.<\/p>\n The surveillance footage of the assault, which is being investigated as a hate crime, went viral.<\/p>\n Though Kari\u2019s focus has been on recovering physically from her serious injuries, her daughter Elizabeth said they\u2019re beginning the process of healing from the trauma together. Kari still has yet to leave their home, her daughter said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s been a long road to healing both physically and emotionally,\u201d Elizabeth said. \u201cShe went through some of the psychological questions like, \u2018What did I do? Did I provoke him?\u2019 and I’m like, \u2018No, you didn’t do anything.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Elliot was arrested and charged with assault as a hate crime, attempted assault as a hate crime, assault and attempted assault. He had been previously convicted of murder in 2003, according to the NYS Department of Corrections and Community Supervision, and authorities say he was released on parole in 2019. He is being held without bail and has a court date on May 10. He has not yet entered a plea.<\/p>\n Kari, an immigrant from the Philippines, said she is not ready to speak out personally about her trauma, but instead allowed her daughter to speak on her behalf.<\/p>\n She\u2019s just one of thousands of Asian Americans who have been reportedly targeted in a recent wave of hate crimes and bias incidents across the country. While reporting on hate crimes often focuses on the impact on victims and communities, stories about the path forward for victims and the healing process are heard less frequently.<\/p>\n With her daughter by her side, Kari and many others are faced with a long path ahead toward recovery and healing. Together, the two have been donating to anti-hate organizations and seeking out the warm words of their loved ones to begin their journey forward.<\/p>\n Reported crimes that targeted Asian people rose by nearly 150% in major U.S. cities from 2019 to 2020, according to\u00a0a study from the Center for the Study of Hate and Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino<\/a>.<\/p>\n And Stop AAPI Hate, a national organization against anti-Asian hate,\u00a0recorded roughly 3,795 hate incidents<\/a>\u00a0from March 19, 2020 to February 28, 2021. This number doesn\u2019t represent the entire landscape of anti-Asian hate in the U.S., the organization said, since it only tracks the incidents recorded to their hate reporting center and many incidents and crimes go unreported.<\/p>\n Kari initially wanted to work on her healing alone and in secret, according to her daughter, who says she reminded her that the assault was part of a larger wave of anti-Asian hate.<\/p>\n Moving forward from hate<\/strong><\/p>\n Evangeline Chan<\/strong>, a co-chair of the Safe Horizon AAPI Affinity Group, said that the hardest part about being a survivor of a hate crime is knowing that someone was attacked for something they cannot change — their identity.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you’re targeted based on your race, religion, sexual orientation or other protected ground — that’s something that is so intrinsically fundamental to your identity that you can’t change,\u201d Chan told ABC News in an interview. Safe Horizon is a nonprofit organization that offers support to crime victims. \u201cSo that just results in the sense of helplessness over the victim, and a sense that this could happen again,\u201d Chan says.<\/p>\n She said that survivors of hate crimes or hate incidents are likely to experience trauma, anxiety, depression and PTSD in a way that\u2019s different from victims of other types of crime because of how personal the attack can feel.<\/p>\n Dr. Michi Fu, a licensed psychologist and professor at California State Polytechnic University, said that hate crime survivors might see the symptoms of trauma in small aspects of their daily life. Lack of sleep, change in appetite, or inability to focus can all be signals of a body that is processing trauma. Paying attention to your body and changes in your day-to-day habits is key to being able to address them, Fu said.<\/p>\n Read the original article here.<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Survivors of hate crimes or hate incidents are likely to experience trauma, anxiety, depression and PTSD. Safe Horizon’s Evangeline Chan explains. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":{"id":9685,"alt_text":"Support children and families in domestic violence shelters","caption":"Peggy Duffy Memorial fund","description":"Support children and families in domestic violence shelters","media_type":"image","media_details":{"width":512,"height":512,"file":"2022\/07\/Safe-Horizon-Flower-Logo_TransparentThumbnail.png","filesize":31715,"sizes":{"medium":{"file":"Safe-Horizon-Flower-Logo_TransparentThumbnail-300x300.png","width":300,"height":300,"mime-type":"image\/png","filesize":18595,"source_url":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Safe-Horizon-Flower-Logo_TransparentThumbnail-300x300.png"},"thumbnail":{"file":"Safe-Horizon-Flower-Logo_TransparentThumbnail-150x150.png","width":150,"height":150,"mime-type":"image\/png","filesize":8008,"source_url":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Safe-Horizon-Flower-Logo_TransparentThumbnail-150x150.png"}},"image_meta":{"aperture":"0","credit":"","camera":"","caption":"","created_timestamp":"0","copyright":"","focal_length":"0","iso":"0","shutter_speed":"0","title":"","orientation":"0","keywords":[]}},"post":9684,"source_url":"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/Safe-Horizon-Flower-Logo_TransparentThumbnail.png"},"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[1627,1635,1265,749,565],"class_list":["post-9109","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-safe-horizon-in-the-news","tag-aapi","tag-aapi-racism","tag-evangeline-chan","tag-hate-crime","tag-hate-crimes","issue-victims-of-other-abuse"],"acf":{"page_header_title":"","title_font_size":"42","page_header_excerpt":"","sub-headline_placement":false,"page_header_image":false,"custom_scripts":false,"show_author_bio":false,"original_url":"","related_initiative_title":"Support Survivors","related_initiative_link":"\/donate","related_initiative_link_text":"Donate to Safe Horizon ","featured_posts":[{"ID":4960,"post_author":"13","post_date":"2017-10-27 14:57:56","post_date_gmt":"2017-10-27 14:57:56","post_content":"*Note: This Blog has been updated in 2021<\/em>\r\n\r\n![\"Helping](\"https:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Helping-Hate-Crime-Victims-1024x651.jpg\")
\r\n\r\nBy Maureen Curtis and Wanda Lucibello<\/em>\r\nOctober 27, 2017\u00a0<\/em>\r\n\r\nSafe Horizon is the nation\u2019s leading victim assistance organization. We provide support, prevent violence, and promote justice for all victims of crime and abuse, including victims of hate crimes<\/strong>. Every day, we help victims of hate crimes heal from trauma by providing caring and comprehensive services. These services include counseling, advocacy and safety planning and are available to anyone regardless of their immigration status.\r\nWhat Exactly is a Hate Crime?<\/h2>\r\nHate crimes target individuals, groups of individuals or property because of a perception or belief about race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion or other characteristic defined under law. Hate crimes impact more than the specific target; they can also have a detrimental effect on the quality of life and safety in communities.\r\n
How Often do Hate Crimes Occur? What are the latest available Hate Crime Statistics?<\/h2>\r\nLaw enforcement agencies have noticed an increase in hate crime incidents. The New York State Division of Criminal Justice Services reported that there was an increase in hate crimes against individuals by 7% from 2014 to 2015<\/a>. In addition, the FBI Hate Crime Statistics reports a national increase of 20% from 2014 to 2015<\/a>. This upward trend implies that either more hate crimes are being committed or that more victims of hate crimes are coming forward to report.\r\n
What You Can Do if You are a Victim of a Hate Crime<\/h2>\r\nIt is ultimately up to victims of hate crimes to decide if they want to involve law enforcement officials. They can also seek support from others such as professional counselors, clergy, trusted friends and\/or family.\r\n
How Can Safe Horizon Provide Services for Victims of Hate Crimes?<\/h2>\r\nFor those not sure about what next steps to take, we have Community Program offices<\/a> that serve all five boroughs. The Community Programs provide services including safety planning, advocacy, case management, information and referrals, supportive counseling and support groups.\r\n\r\nOur Crime Victim Assistance Program (CVAP)<\/a> works in tandem with law enforcement officials to help victims of all crime. CVAP advocates are currently in all precincts throughout New York City. They review police reports and reach out proactively to victims of crime and abuse to address their specific needs. CVAP advocates also meet with victims of\u00a0<\/strong>crime who may not have filed a police report but come into an NYPD precinct seeking assistance. The advocates speak 15 languages and can access Language Line as needed. They will work with any victim of crime, even if they do not have legal status in the U.S.\r\n\r\nSafe Horizon\u2019s Family Court Programs<\/a> and Criminal Court Programs<\/a> can also provide assistance in obtaining legal guidance. The Counseling Center can help heal from intense, debilitating trauma symptoms<\/a>.\r\n\r\nIf you believe you have been a victim of any crime, or a family member or other loved one has been a victim of homicide, please call our Crime Victims Hotline 866-689-HELP (4357)<\/a>.\u00a0 Our Crime Victims Hotline is open 24 hours a day and can accommodate speakers of all languages.","post_title":"Helping Hate Crime Victims","post_excerpt":"If you're a victim of a hate crime, where can you get help? Our experts explain how hate crime victims can find help and resources at Safe Horizon.","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"help-hate-crime-victims","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2025-06-10 13:39:39","post_modified_gmt":"2025-06-10 17:39:39","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/www.safehorizon.org\/?p=4960","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"1","filter":"raw"},{"ID":8396,"post_author":"13","post_date":"2021-04-02 17:11:38","post_date_gmt":"2021-04-02 21:11:38","post_content":" \r\n\r\nApril 2, 2021<\/em>\r\nBy Evangeline Chan and Queenie Ng\u00a0\u00a0<\/em>\r\n\r\nSince the\u00a0<\/span>onset of the\u00a0<\/span>COVID-19 pandemic<\/span>,<\/span>\u00a0racism\u00a0<\/span>and violence\u00a0<\/span>against the\u00a0<\/span>Asian<\/span>, Asian<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>American<\/span>\u00a0and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community has increased.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Racism manifests in different ways and our communities have experienced everything from<\/span>\u00a0physical attacks, verbal harassment, and violence leading to death<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>as\u00a0<\/span>seen\u00a0<\/span>in the f<\/span>atal<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>shootings<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>at Atlanta-based massage parlors<\/span>\u00a0in March 2021<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nAt Safe Horizon, we believe racism is violence<\/span>. We<\/span>\u00a0s<\/span>tand with\u00a0<\/span>the AAPI\u00a0<\/span>communities<\/span>\u00a0who\u00a0<\/span>have\u00a0<\/span>experience<\/span>d<\/span>\u00a0the trauma of racism<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>long\u00a0<\/span>before the\u00a0<\/span>pandemic<\/span>\u00a0and even\u00a0<\/span>more so<\/span>\u00a0now<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>We also call for advocates and\u00a0<\/span>allie<\/span>s<\/span>\u00a0to come together and\u00a0<\/span>support our fellow community members.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n\r\nIf you find yourself asking how you can help,<\/span>\u00a0show up and be an ally to the AAPI community<\/span>, here are six ways to do so<\/span>:\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>\r\n
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