By Monique
Twitter talk has made people alert about the plight of Nan-Hui Jo . Jo, a native South Korean who immigrated to the U.S., had fled the U.S. with her daughter back to Korea in 2009 to find shelter from her father’s daughter, Iraq war vet Jesse Charlton. But, as Al-Jazeera states, Charlton filed child abduction charges against her, meaning that now, her daughter resides with him while Jo is in jail. Further complicating the case is that Jo is undocumented, giving her a much higher percentage at being deported.
Sadly, Jo was convicted of child abduction this week, despite the fact that she left the country to save herself and her child. This case, combined with the less-than-satisfactory ruling have spawned th hashtags #StandWithNanHui and #WeSurvived, the latter featuring Twitter users who were brave enough to give personal instances of how emotional and physical abuse affected their lives and how they, their mothers or grandmothers escaped. Below are some of the tweets from the hashtag movements.
Heartbroken for the many women – many WOC and undocumented – who are now more afraid to speak up & leave a bad situation. #StandWithNanHui
— Jenn Reappropriate (@reappropriate) March 5, 2015
Verdict sends mssg to DV survivors: ‘stay w/ ur abuser until they hurt/kill u, or go to jail. B/c we will never believe u’ #StandWithNanHui
— Jenn Reappropriate (@reappropriate) March 5, 2015
Nan-Hui Jo was found GUILTY in her trial. Call ICE Director Craig Meyer at (415) 844-5512 & ask them to drop the ICE hold! #StandwithNanHui
— 18millionrising (@18millionrising) March 3, 2015
#StandWithNanHui because SURVIVORS of DV should supported, not criminalized! #Not1More pic.twitter.com/bBlBRXegdM
— Stand with Nan-Hui (@standwithnanhui) March 5, 2015
@YoloDA No, a mom was wrongfully persecuted for protecting her child from an abusive father. #StandWithNanHui
— Soya Jung (@soyaj) March 4, 2015
I #StandWithNanHui because survivors of domestic violence should not be criminalized! #Not1More pic.twitter.com/GFDzX4tiwx
— e d ☁ (@_salonga) March 2, 2015
The women in our communities endure so much unspoken trauma and violence. We need to uplift stories of survival #wesurvived #standwithnanhui
— Diane Wong (@XpertDemon) February 26, 2015
The question isn’t why she stayed, but why he abused her #StayOnTopicMedia #StandWithNanHui
— Juhee Kwon (@juhee_kwon) February 26, 2015
I #StandWithNanHui because my grandmother was disowned by her own family for escaping an abusive marriage and getting a divorce
— Stacy Suh (@stacysuh) February 26, 2015
#StandWithNanHui this is not what our justice system is about. Help the victim don’t victimize her again. http://t.co/0nu9RaGBxo
— Lil (@piggielife) February 25, 2015
I #StandWithNanHui bc my mom still cries & apologizes to me for divorcing my dad bc she couldn’t take the violence anymore but #WeSurvived
— Miki Ding (@miki_ding) February 25, 2015
I #StandWithNanHui because my mom finally decided to start the divorce process with my emotionally abusive father. #WeSurvived
— MarMar (@Marsito323) February 25, 2015
Survivors of domestic violence deserve justice! #StandWithNanHui
— Kiwi Illafonte (@kiwizzo) February 25, 2015
Traditional #Korean drumming at #StandWithNanHui protest in #SanFrancisco: pic.twitter.com/gtYLvon6Qq
— Akinremi Peter Taiwo (@compsoftnet) March 5, 2015
RT @annahuhuu: Separating mother & daughter because she ran away from her abusive husband? ARE YOU KIDDING ME #StandWithNanHui #wesurvived
— Gregory A. Cendana (@gregorycendana) March 5, 2015
I #StandwithNanHui. My grandma divorced Her abuser&ran away w my mom, rescuing her from a violent home w nothing on Their backs. #WeSurvived
— femmeily suh (@EMILYSUH) March 3, 2015
when will we stop punishing mothers and domestic violence survivors for defending their families? #StandWithNanHui #WeSurvived #Not1More
— la tula cuecho (@LissetteMiller) March 3, 2015
The #StandWithNanHui case shows holes in immigration & domestic violence law @BlogHer @WeBelongTogether http://t.co/IXdXqm3WvA #womenslives
— HapaMama (@HapaMamaGrace) March 6, 2015
This case hits home in a lot of ways (many of which are touched on in these tweets), but mostly because it reiterates the victim-blaming culture that also upholds rape culture and other issues that find women in a place of vulnerability. The idea is to always blame the woman for their predicament, when the blame should really be placed squarely on the men who inflict violence. Instead of Jo being criminalized for trying to do what she could to save herself and her child, Charlton should be the one who has to answer to the law.
Have you participated in either of these hashtags? Give your opinions in the comments section below.
Julian 