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White Ribbon Day – 25 November

Wednesday November 25, 2015

Domestic Abuse

If you are a victim of Domestic Abuse then it is important that you seek legal advice to protect yourself. There are two orders that can potentially be put in place to stop the abuse. Please see below:

Non-Molestation Order:

This is an order which can protect you from violence, threats of violence and harassment. It prevents the abuser from contacting you, from turning up at your house unannounced and from abusing you.

However this order only applies where the applicant (person making the application) and the respondent (person receiving the application) are “associated persons”. This include people who are married, have been married, civil partners, cohabitees and it also covers those who have had an intimate relationship which was of significant duration, or had children together.

If the respondent is in breach of the order then they can be arrested and ultimately sent to prison.

The order usually lasts for a specified period of time or it must state until the court makes a further order which gives the court more flexibility.

Occupation Order:

An occupation order is a court order that is similar to a non-molestation order but it removes the abuser from the property. This could be ideal for a person who has left their home because of domestic abuse and wants to return living there but without the abuser being there or it could be ideal for people who do not feel safe living with their partner and need to get them removed from the property.

Again if they are in breach of the order then they can be arrested and it only applies to “associated persons”. The main ones have been listed below:

married people
civil partners
people who live together, or used to
people who live in the same household
people who are related to you
your fiancé, fiancée or someone you used to be engaged to
the parent of your child, or a person who has parental responsibility of your child
someone with whom you are in an intimate relationship, which has been going on for some time
In order to apply for an occupation order you have to be able to show that you are legally entitled to stay in the property, either as a tenant or owner of the property. If not then, you must be able to show that you are married to or living with, the person who owns or rents the property, and that person must be of the opposite sex. This order is normally for specified period of time but it may also be renewed.

This can be a confusing area of law and so please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.

Legal Aid

If you have been a victim of Domestic Abuse within the last two years and can opbatin proof of it for example by way of a doctor’s letter or a letter from a refuge etc then you may qualify for legal aid.. If you want more information about this then please do not hesitate to get in touch.

This article gives a brief overview on how the law can help victims of domestic abuse.

Please contact Emma Cordock at AFG LAW to discuss this further and for initial advice on this matter.