Any incident of threatening behaviour, violence or abuse (psychological, physical sexual financial or emotional) between adults who are or have been intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality.
If you are the victim of domestic abuse and you feel in danger or threatened you should contact the Police. If you would like to know how we can help you please either call us on 01629 56660 or make a Free Online Enquiry.
We can help you
Domestic abuse of whatever form is unacceptable. No one should be made to feel threatened or scared within their relationship. However, simply walking away is not always easy.
In the first instance always contact the police for assistance.
An injunction is a Court Order that requires someone to do or not to do something. A non-molestation order is a type of injunction. This is aimed at preventing your partner or ex-partner from using or threatening violence against you or your child, or intimidating, harassing or pestering you, in order to ensure the health, safety and well-being of yourself and any children.
This is an order by the court that is made to regulate the legal rights of people who can usually occupy the home. It dictates who can live in the family home and who cannot continue to live there.
It can also be used to restrict your abuser from entering the surrounding area where the home is situated.
Additionally, the court has the power to regulate various matters regarding the home such as payment of rent or mortgage.
If you do not feel safe continuing to live with your partner, or if you have left the home because of violence but want to return and exclude your abuser, you may want to apply for an Occupation Order.
A breach of a Non-molestation Order is a criminal offence. You can still take your abuser back to the civil court for breaking the Order if you prefer this. If you already have an Occupation order, you may have a Power of Arrest attached. These powers come into effect if your abuser breaks the order.
Breach of a Non-molestation Order is also automatically a criminal offence and so your abuser should be arrested if the Order is breached. Occupation Orders are treated differently and a separate Power of Arrest will still be needed.
In order for you to apply for these Orders, you must be an “associated person”. This means you and your partner or ex-partner must be related or associated with each other in one of the following ways:
If you are not eligible to apply for an injunction under the Family Law Act, you can also get civil injunctions under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997. You can also get a Restraining Order attached when criminal proceedings have been taken if the court believes you are likely to be at risk. Restraining Orders can provide the same protection as injunctions under civil law but may be more effective as they can carry stronger penalties.
If you are applying for an Occupation Order you either have to have a legal right to occupy the home (as joint or sole tenant or owner), or you have to be or have been married to, or living with, an opposite-sex partner who is the owner or tenant. When making an Occupation Order, the court may make other related Orders imposing obligations on you or your abuser, e.g. relating to repair and maintenance of the home or to payment of rent or mortgage. Occupation Orders can be applied to either remove a person from a property or to gain entry.
Injunctions are normally for a specified period of time, e.g. six months, but can be renewed. They can be made “until further Order”.
Applications for injunctions under the Family Law Act 1996 dealt with at the Family court. The application will be in a closed court and no-one who is not directly concerned with your case will be allowed in. This means that you will be able to take in your solicitor but will not normally be allowed to take in a friend or other supporter, although they can stay in the waiting room.
If you are in immediate danger an application can be made to the Court on the same day without your abuser being there. This is called a “without notice” application. The court will need to consider whether or not you are at risk of harm, or whether you will be prevented or deterred from applying if you have to wait for your abuser to be served with notice, or whether your abuser is avoiding being served. If the court grants a “without notice” Order, you will have to return to court for a full hearing once your abuser has been served with the notice.
You will need to make a statement about the physical and emotional abuse you have experienced. You should be as precise as possible about all the ways you have been physically and emotionally harmed, the dates and times (if you have them) and the effects on you and your children. It will help if you have kept a record of past events or if you have independent evidence such as police or medical reports.
The court sometimes suggests that instead of an injunction, the abuser should make an undertaking (a promise) to the court in the same terms as the application you were making. The difference with an undertaking is that breach constitutes contempt of court and so can still be dealt with by the court in the same way as a breach of an Order, but a Power of Arrest cannot be attached and the person giving the undertaking normally does so without making any admissions as to the conduct alleged.
If you would like to get in touch with us please either call us on 01629 56660 or make a Free Online Enquiry.
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Dealing with Joanne at Lovedays Family department was always a positive experience. She made sure I fully understood my legal situation and her communication style, always so clear and concise, helped me navigate my way through a difficult time.
Lovedays Solicitors, Potter and Co Solicitors and Andrew Macbeth Cash and Co Solicitors are the trading names of Derbyshire Legal Services Limited which is a company registered in England and Wales under company number 08838592. Registered office Sherwood House, 1 Snitterton Road, Matlock, Derbyshire, DE4 3LZ.
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