Domestic violence is a pattern of behaviour by a person when he/she is abusive towards their partner. Here the word abusive means that when the person’s behaviour is intended to make their partner feel frightened, humiliated, terrorized, or intimidated.
The behaviour is also defined as abusive if the person isolates the partner from their family or friends. Anyone could be a victim of domestic violence regardless of gender or sexual orientation.
A Domestic Violence Protection Order protects the victim by issuing a legal order in the name of the victim’s partner. In addition, a person can get a restraining order if he has been a victim of domestic violence in the presence of the past. Let us dive deeper into domestic violations and what you can do about it.
What comes under Domestic Violence?
There are many forms of domestic violence. The abuser commits domestic violence in the victim’s domestic area. The abuser might be partners, ex-partners, family members, and family friends too. It can be broadly classified into five different types.
Physical abuse – A person is said to suffer from physical abuse if he gets external bruises or wounds. The acts of grabbing, slapping, or hitting in any form are considered physical abuse.
Emotional abuse- The acts of criticizing, belittling, or name-calling another person to diminish his/her self-esteem is considered emotional abuse.
Sexual Abuse – If a person forces their partner into sexual acts or treats them in a sexually humiliating way, such acts come under sexual abuse.
Economic abuse involves withholding resources or money that the partners need or making the partner completely dependent on the abuser for financial needs.
Psychological abuse – This type of abuse consists of activities like intimidating the partner or threatening them with things like communicating their information to others that can cause humiliation or taking the partners children away.
What is a restraining order?
A restraining order is issued by a court in the person’s name when he or she is identified as an abuser. For example, a court issued a restraining order when a victim files a case of domestic violence against a partner. Restraining orders vary depending on the type of abuse involved in the case.
When a person sought a restraining order, it may prohibit the accused from contacting that person or requiring them to move out of the home. A restraining order may also ask the accused to keep a certain distance from the petitioner at all times or award sole custody of children to the petitioner.
The order offers protection to the person who files the case against domestic violence by a partner. So, an order aims at only the persons and activities that the court has been asked to cover.
Domestic Violence Services Networks
Violation of a restraining order by an abuser
If the abuser violates the law, the victim can seek help from the court to enforce the order. When a victim calls the police to report the violation of the restraining order, the police authorities will listen to the victim’s story based on the evidence.
If they find that the order has not been followed, the abuser will be arrested, or they can take other legal actions. In urgent situations, the police custody has the right to enforce the no-contact, stop abuse law on the abuser or provide police custody facilities to the victim. While other violations are not easily enforced by the police authorities, such as the inability to provide pay support, attend treatment programs, etc.
How is civil contempt different from criminal contempt?
If a person violates a protection order, he can be charged under civil contempt or criminal contempt. Let us get a brief idea of both of them in detail:
Civil Contempt
When a person is charged with civil contempt, the judge issues another order to follow the original protection order. Punishments like taking away the person’s license, changing provisions of a protection order, or a warning to take the case to the criminal court if the order is not followed properly.
Criminal Contempt
If a person is dealing with criminal contempt, he might face a possibility of much more serious penalties or even imprisonment penalties in extreme cases. For example, when a judge orders a jail or sentences a prison to the abuser, he has the right to a jury trial.
Conclusion
Hence Dealing with domestic violence and not doing anything about it is never a solution. The Domestic Violence Order is created to provide justice to the victim and stop the abuser.
Also, if immediate protection is required, you can connect to the police and apply for the domestic violation order. It is the right of every citizen to get civil legal protection from domestic violence toboth women and men victims.
