DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

INDEX

• What is a Protective Order?
• Why Learn About Protection Orders?
• Learn to Recognize Abuse?
• False Hopes Can Be Dangerous?
• What Can A Protection Order Do?
• If Children Are Involved
• A Protection Order Can’t Guarantee Your Safety
• Build Your Case
• How to Apply For a Protection Order
• Plan for Your Safety
• Some Questions and Answers

 

• What is a Protective Order?

It’s a document issued by a court, to help you protect yourself from someone who is abusing or harassing you. Any adult may petition a judge for an “order of protection” if he/she has been

• PROTECTIVE ORDER CAN HELP:
• SET LIMITS – For example, it can require the abuser to keep away from you and your home
• SEND A STRONG MESSAGE – Getting a protection order lets the abuser know you won’t put up with abusive behavior.

 

• Why Learn About Protection Orders?

Because they can be a useful tool for ending - or preventing abuse.

Abuse Can Take A Terrible Toll On Your:

• Self-Esteem – Abuse can make it hard for you to feel good about yourself. You may come to believe that you deserve the mistreatment  - that’s never true.
• Health – Physical abuse can lead to serious injury – or death. But any kind of abuse creates emotional stress, which can damage health in many ways.
• Life – Living with abuse – or the threat of abuse – can be a nightmare for you and your whole family.
• Children’s Future – Living in an abusive household makes a child more likely to continue the pattern of abuse – either as victim or abuser.

 

• Learn to Recognize Abuse

The first step to getting a protection order is deciding whether you need one.

 

• Physical Abuse and the fear it creates can effect every aspect of a women’s life. Physical abuse includes:
• hitting
• using a weapon
• shoving
• twisting an arm
• chocking
• holding a woman against her will
• Emotional Abuse may be more difficult to recognize than physical abuse, but emotional abuse is just as serious. Emotional abuse includes:
• making threats
• Humiliating a woman by putting her down, calling her names, telling her she’s selfish, not good enough, etc.
• Taking or destroying a woman’s personal property.
• Forbidding her to leave the house to see a friend.
• Sexual Abuse can involve a female of any age – single or married. It can include:
• Rape (sex forced on a person, whether or not the 2 people are partners)
• Pressuring a person to have sex.
• Making comments or behaving in ways that make a woman feel like a sexual object.
• Stalking is a pattern of harassing a woman. In Indiana, stalking is a crime. It can involve:
• Following a woman in public.
• Making threats over the phone.
• Calling repeatedly or at inappropriate times (the middle of the night, for example)
• “Staking out” a woman’s home or workplace. In many cases, a woman who is being stalked is in a greater danger. Stalking often leads to violent crime.

 

 

• False Hopes Can be Dangerous

A woman who believes the abuse will stop by itself or become less frequent is putting herself at risk. The abuser may apologize and promise it won’t happen again, but in most cases the abuse continues and even gets worse.

• What Can a Protection Order Do?

Every state is different, but in many places a protection order can require an abuser to:

• Stay Away From You – at home, at work and anywhere you go. A protection order can also prohibit the abuser from contacting you by telephone or mail.
• Move Out – if the two of you live together, whether as partners or just house mates, you can ask that a police officer be on the scene when the abuser collects his/her belongings.
• Get Into a Counseling Program that focuses on battering, substance abuse or both, if appropriate.
• If Children are Involved, a Protection Order may also:

Give you temporary custody – This generally lasts until the court makes a final decision about custody.

Require supervised visits – The abuser can be barred from spending time with his/her children unless a worker from a social service agency is present.

• But a Protective Order Can’t Guarantee your safety.

An abuser can be arrested for violating the order, but it’s not always possible to prevent a violation.

• Build your Case

It may help you in court, if you decide to apply for a protective order.

 

• Notify the Police – If possible, call the police during an incident of abuse or immediately afterward. The sooner you notify them, the stronger your case will be if you go to court. Get the responding officer’s names.
• Gather Evidence – This will also help to make your case stronger. Try to:
• Have a friend to take photographs of your injuries right after an incident of physical abuse – or ask the police to do it. Be sure to note the time and date the photos were taken.
• Save torn or bloody clothing and anything else that could serve as evidence of abuse.

 

        X.         How to Apply for a Protection Order

• First , Get Advice – Talk to the police or cal a local woman’s shelter. Find Out:
• What a protection order can and can’t do for you.
• What procedure to follow for getting a protection order in your area.
• Which court provides the proper forms. (You may be able to choose between civil, criminal and family court).
• File The Forms – You may obtain the form from the Brown County Court Clerks Office (phone # 265- 1962).

          XI.      Do Your Part

Remember – a protection order is only a piece of paper. Take other steps to protect yourself.

If You Don’t Have A Protective Order:

Plan For A Quick Escape – Going to a woman’s shelter or the home of family or friends may be the first step in escaping an abusive situation.

TRY TO:

• Pack a suitcase, and leave it with a friend or neighbor.
• Hide an extra set of car keys.
• Put aside emergency money and any important papers you’ll need.
• Plan where to go and how to get there, at any time of the day or night.

Even if you do have a Protection Order, it’s a good idea to:

Keep Emergency Numbers Handy – Make sure you have numbers for:

• The Police
• An Ambulance
• A battered woman’s hotline

If you have children and decide to leave take your children with you.

XII.         Some Questions and Answers

Who Can File for a Protection Order? – Each state has its own rules. Depending on where you live, you may be eligible for a protection order even if:

• You’re not married
• You don’t live with the abuser
• Your partner is a woman
• The abuser is your own child.

Would it help to get a lawyer? – Getting legal counsel is a good idea, but it doesn’t mean hiring a lawyer. Women’s shelters often have legal advocates who can answer questions and even go to court with you. If you decide to find a lawyer, look for one with experience in family law.

 

Copyright © 2011 Sheriff's Office Brown County Indiana

Website by ProjectVisionary.Com