What is domestic abuse?+
Domestic abuse is behaviour from a family member, partner or ex-partner that:
· is controlling, coercive, threatening, violent or abusive
· happens between people aged over 16
Domestic violence and abuse can happen to men or women. It includes the following types of abuse:
· Psychological
· Physical
· Sexual
· Financial
· Emotional
Domestic violence and abuse can include harassment, stalking, female genital mutilation, forced marriage and honour-based abuse. It can also include trafficking.
In an emergency+
In an emergency you should contact the police by calling 999 or text phoning 0800 112 999.
Domestic abuse and the Family Court+
There are two types of legal order that you can apply for in the Family Court to protect yourself from domestic abuse:
an occupation order to exclude someone from your home, and
a non-molestation order to prevent someone from being violent, threatening violence, harassing or intimidating you
Non-molestation order+
A non-molestation order can protect you and your children from violence or harassment. You can obtain a non-molestation order against someone who has been physically violent or against someone who is harassing, intimidating or pestering you. You can apply for a non-molestation order even if you still want to (or have to) live with your abuser.
A non-molestation order might include provisions such as:
· Your abuser must not be violent, threaten violence, intimidate, pester or harass you
· Your abuser must not contact you by telephone, email, social media or in person
· Your abuser must not attend or contact for any reason your place of work
The court will look at all of your circumstances, including the need to secure the health, safety and well-being of you and your children. You will need to show the court how these would be at risk if you are not granted the order.
If you own your home or the tenancy to your home is in your sole name, you are not married to your abuser and your abuser has no legal entitlement to your home then the non-molestation order can also stop your abuser from coming to the home. Otherwise, if you want to stop the abuser from coming to your home then you need to apply for an occupation order.
Occupation order+
An occupation order deals with who lives at the family home. An occupation order can do the following things:
· Order your abuser to move out of the home or to stay away from the home
· Order your abuser to keep a certain distance away from the home
· Order your abuser to stay in certain parts of the home at certain times (for example it can order them to sleep in a different bedroom)
· Order your abuser to allow you back into the home if they have locked you out
· Order them to continue to pay the mortgage, rent or bills
The court will look at a number of things, including:
· The housing needs and resources of you, your abuser and your children
· The financial resources of both of you
· The likely effect any order, or not making an order, will have on you, your abuser and your children
· Your and your abuser’s behaviour to one another
The court may also look at the harm that you and your children might suffer if the order is not granted and the harm that your abuser and your children might suffer if it is.
The court can make both a non-molestation order and an occupation order if both are needed.
Who can I get an order against?+
You can apply for a non-molestation or occupation order if you are associated to your abuser. You are associated to your abuser if you and your abuser:
· Are or were ever married or engaged to be married
· Are or were ever in a civil partnership or had agreed to form a civil partnership
· Are or were living together (this includes same-sex and opposite-sex couples)
· Live or have lived in the same household, for example as a flat share (but not as a tenant, boarder, lodger or employee)
· Are relatives, including: parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren, siblings, uncles, aunts, nieces, nephews or first cousins (whether by blood, marriage, civil partnership or cohabitation)
· Have a child together
· Have or had parental responsibility for the same child
· Are parties to the same family proceedings for the same child
· Are or were in an intimate personal relationship of significant duration
If you are not legally associated to your abuser, you may still be able to get protection under the law relating to harassment.
Who can be protected by an order?+
You can get an order to protect yourself and any relevant child. A relevant child is any child under 18:
· Who is living or might be expected to live with you or your abuser
· Who is the subject of family court proceedings linked to an application for a domestic violence injunction; or
· Whose interests the court thinks are relevant
If you have a child who is over 18, or another adult family member who needs protection, they will have to make their own application for an order.
How to apply for an order+
The application to the Family Court is made on form FL401 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/856365/fl401-eng.pdf.
There is no court fee for applying for a domestic violence order.
You or your solicitor will need to prepare a witness statement giving details of your relationship, any relevant children, past history of violence and the events which led you to make the application. You should also set out what you want the order to do. You will have to attend at least one court hearing. For advice and assistance with this process, you should consider contacting a local solicitor or barrister or the ARU Law Clinic for an appointment.
If you need an injunction urgently or are scared that your abuser will cause you further harm if they are aware you are going to court, you can make your application without notice to them. This means that the court can look at your application without your abuser being present. The court will have to be persuaded that there are good reasons to make the order urgently so you will need to explain this in your witness statement. A supporting report from the police or your doctor may help and can be attached to your statement.
If you apply for and are granted your order without notice, the court is likely to organise another hearing to give them an opportunity to put forward their side of the story. You will have to attend this hearing and you may have to give evidence. The court will consider all the evidence and decide whether the order should be continued or extended.
Serving the orders+
Either you or your solicitor are responsible for serving the order on your abuser. This means giving them a copy and it should be done using a process server or through the court, by the court bailiff. A process server is a person whose job it is to serve documents on people and they will charge a fee. The abuser must know there is an order in place to be responsible for breaching any part of it. You are only protected once they are aware of the order. A copy of the order should also be sent to your local police station.
What if the order is ignored or not followed by my abuser?+
If your abuser breaches the order you will need to go back to the court to ask them to enforce it and to take further action. The process for enforcing the order varies, depending on whether you have a non-molestation order or an occupation order.
Enforcing a non-molestation order: two options+
It is a criminal offence to breach a non-molestation order.
If your abuser has breached your non-molestation order you can enforce it by either:
· Starting criminal proceedings by reporting them to the police, or
· Starting civil proceedings by applying to the court that made the order for the abuser to be arrested
Breaching a non-molestation order is a criminal offence that can be taken to the criminal court. The criminal courts have a range of sentencing options available to them. The maximum sentence is 5 years imprisonment and a fine.
If you do not want to start criminal proceedings you can go back to the Family Court that made the order and if that court finds that your abuser has breached the order, they may be sent to prison, fined or be given a suspended sentence.
Enforcing an occupation order+
If you have an occupation order, the process for enforcing the order varies depending on whether a power of arrest is attached to the order. A power of arrest allows the police to arrest the abuser if the occupation order is breached. Powers of arrest can be attached to occupation orders if the court is satisfied that your abuser has used or threatened violence against you.
If your abuser breaches any part of your occupation order and there is a power of arrest attached to it, you can report the breach directly to the police. The police can arrest him and take him to the court that made the order to be punished
If your occupation order does not have a power of arrest attached, you can still apply to the court that made the order to have your abuser arrested, if they have breached any part of the order. If the court finds that the abuser has breached the order, they can send them to prison, fine them or give them a suspended sentence.
Harassment+
If you are not associated to your abuser then you may still be able to get protection if you are suffering harassment or are in fear of violence.
The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 makes it a criminal offence to harass someone or make them fear violence will be used against them. You can also apply for an injunction against the person harassing you or making you fear violence.
Harassment is a course of conduct that is deliberately intended to cause a person distress or alarm. A course of conduct means two or more incidents of harassment.
When deciding whether any particular course of conduct amounts to harassment, the court will consider whether a reasonable person, looking at the behaviour from outside the situation, would think that it amounts to harassment.
An incident of harassment could be a range of things, for example:
· A text, answer-phone message, letter or email
· A comment or threat
· Standing outside someone’s house or driving past it
· An act of violence
Harassment is a criminal offence and is not dealt with in the Family Court. You should report incidents of harassment to the police.
Further help with domestic abuse+
There are a number of organisations which offer advice and support relating to domestic abuse. A few of these are listed below:
· Women’s Aid:
Women’s Aid offers advice and support to women who are experiencing or have experienced domestic abuse. Their services include a freephone 24-hour helpline, an online forum where survivors of domestic abuse can help others and outreach services. They also have a branch in Cambridge – call 01223 460947. Click here for their website.
· Rights of Women:
Rights of Women is a service dedicated to helping women through issues they are facing including domestic abuse. They offer advice, support and help and their website can be accessed here.
· Men’s Advice Line:
Men’s Advice Line is a support service for men suffering from domestic abuse and they have a freephone number to call to speak to an advisor – call 0808 801 0327. Click here for their website.
· The Mix:
The Mix is an advice service for under 25’s which provides support to those suffering domestic abuse over the phone (0333 272 3347), by e-mail and by one-to-one live chat. To access their website, click here.
· Galop:
Galop is a specialist LGBT+ anti-violence charity which provides advice and support relating to domestic abuse through phone (call 0800 999 5428), e-mail and online chat services. To access their website, click here.