Individuals who fear for their safety — perhaps from a threatening domestic partner, roommate or stalker — might also be afraid to publicly pursue a protection order that can shield them from interactions or harassment from that person.
So a Seattle-area government program and Microsoft partnered to develop an online portal that makes it much easier for an applicant to file the required legal documents with the courts and connects them with an in-person advocate as needed.
The Protection Order Portal is operated by the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office and has served 17 people per day on average since launching in June 2024.
The completely online process “helps save lives, and it helps people feel more safe in their home environment, in their community, and fewer children are witnesses to domestic violence,” said King County Prosecutor Leesa Manion.
Legislative changes enacted in June further strengthened these protections, including rules that inform survivors when abusers petition to restore their access to firearms or when that right is removed, and it increases the penalties when abusers are found with homemade or “ghost” guns. The law also makes it easier for minors who are guarded by a protection order to continue their coverage when turning 18.
Protection orders encompass scenarios including domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking, cyber stalking and harassment. The order does not require that a crime has been committed, but applicants must provide evidence supporting their concerns.
When a judge grants an order, prohibited actions — such as contacting or coming in proximity to a protected individual — become illegal and a victim can contact police. The orders can be used to safeguard the petitioners, children and pets.
Melissa Hutchins was harassed by a cyberstalker who threatened violence and was ultimately convicted and given a 9-year sentence. She went on to become founder and CEO of Certifi AI, a Seattle-based startup protecting digital identity.
Hutchins supports the availability of both in-person and online support for addressing this need.
“When people are in these positions of needing to file for a protection order, most are operating in an extreme state of fear, urgently seeking answers and support from someone that can help walk through the process with them,” she said via email.
“It’s very encouraging to see the development of this portal, making it easier for individuals to access the legal protections they need,” Hutchins added.
Before the COVID pandemic prompted the move to online services, “everything was pen-to-paper and parties were required to be in person for every step of the civil protection order process,” said Kelsey Greer, program manager of the Protection Order Advocacy Program.
Applications previously required multiple trips to a King County courthouse, including picking up and filing petition documents and attending three hearings. And most applicants are working without an attorney, which could make it difficult to navigate the legalese in the documents. The new portal includes an easy-to-understand questionnaire that transfers the answers to the official application.
While the process is simpler, the portal doesn’t change or weaken the legal standards that must be met for protection, and a judge or commissioner has final say on the order.
Protection order renewals, modifications and terminations are still filed in person.
Requests for protection orders have risen sharply, jumping 26% from 2022 to 2023, King County officials said. The surge was due to changes in Washington law that took effect July 2022 and simplified the petition process.
Reported domestic assault declined 11% from 2019 to last year, according to a survey of 10 sample cities by the Council on Criminal Justice. But violence from intimate partners, including spouses, boyfriends and girlfriends, spiked from 2021 to 2022, reports the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics. Experts point to pandemic-related isolation and financial pressure as potentially contributing to the increase.
The effort to put the protection order service online wasn’t so much about saving money, said Manion, as it was about meeting the higher demand.
“We are able to serve more people,” she said. “If we had only in person, everything by paper, I don’t think that we have enough hours to serve 17 petitioners a day. So there would be some parts of our community who feel afraid, know they need help, and just don’t get it.”
Editor’s note: Story updated to add comment from Melissa Hutchins.
