LEGAL OPTIONS

There are several ways you can report domestic abuse/violence to the police. If its an emergency, dial 999.

You can call 101 from an​ywhere in the uk and they will put you through to your nearest police.

you can attend your nearest police station, or speak to a police officer if you see one nearby.  

Almost all uk police forces now have a specialist domestic abuse unit, with specially trained officers who can speak with you and advise you on your options moving forward. 

England, wales and northern ireland - click here to locate your nearest police station

IF THE ABUSIVE PERSON HAS BEEN ARRESTED, THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS MAY BE OPEN TO HELP PROTECT YOU:

POLICE BAIL - These are conditions which the police can instruct the arrested person to comply with, until they get to court. Some of these conditions can prevent them from speaking to specific people, and/or going to specific places and will compel them to attend a certain court on a certain date.  These conditions may be changed, once they have appeared at court.  If they do not agree to abide by these conditions, they will not be released from police custody and will be kept in the cells until they appear at court.  If the abusive person breaches their bail conditions, they can be arrested immediately. 

COURT BAIL - This is the same as police bail, where the courts can instruct the abusive person to attend certain places, at certain time. They can also prohibit them from contacting specific persons or going certain places. If they refuse to agree to abide by the conditions set, they will be remanded in custody until their next court hearing, which can sometimes be months away.  If the abusive person breaches their bail conditions, they can be arrested immediately. 

NON-HARASSMENT ORDER - This is an order which the police, or a solicitor, can apply to the courts asking for the abusive person to be prohibited from carrying out any behaviour that causes, or is intended to cause, you harassment. If the abusive person has been charged twice with conduct that is deemed to have been harassment, the police can apply to the courts on your behalf. If they have not been previously convicted, you will need to ask your solicitor to apply to the courts for you. 

Once the non harassment order is in place, it can be extended once the specified time has expired. This time varies from one order to another. 

If you are asking for a non harassment order, make sure you ask for a power of arrest to be attached. This means if the abusive person breaches the order, they can be arrested immediately and put to court the next lawful day. 

England and Wales - The police can issue a Domestic Violence Protection Notice, which will protect you from abuse for 48 hours. If the police think you’re still in danger, they can apply to the magistrates' court for a Domestic Violence Protection Order  

A Domestic Violence Protection Order lasts for up to 28 days and gives you time to explore your options and get further support.  This type of order can ban the abusive person from returning to the home and from contacting you. If the perpetrator does not keep to the Order, they can be arrested and kept in custody to appear at court. 

In the above orders, where the police or courts instruct the abusive person not to contact you, it will usually stipulate "by any means" or similar wording, which means they cannot call, text, email or ask someone else to speak to you on their behalf. 

IF THE ABUSIVE PERSON HAS NOT  BEEN ARRESTED, THE FOLLOWING OPTIONS MAY BE OPEN TO YOU: 

Scotland - You can ask a solicitor to apply for an interdict, exclusion order or non-harassment order through the civil courts, to offer you protection from the abuser. 

An interdict - is a civil court order that tells a person not to do something or to stay away from a person, or a place, such as you, your children and your house. If you ask a solicitor to seek this on your behalf, ensure you ask for a POWER OF ARREST to be attached. If you do not have a power of arrest and the abuser breaches the conditions of the interdict, there is nothing the police can do and you would need to take the abuser to court for breaching it.

IF you DO have power of arrest, the police can arrest the abuser if they have evidence that the order has been breached. 

If there is a power of arrest attached, your solicitor will send a copy to the police so they are aware. 

In an emergency you can apply to the court for an interim interdict which your solicitor should be able to get this for you within 24 to 48 hours, giving your solicitor time to apply for a longer term interdict.

Exclusion order - is a civil order which the courts can issue to have the abuser removed from the family home for your safety. 

Where the abusers has legal rights to be in the home, the exclusion order suspends their occupancy rights for an initial period of 6 months, but you can apply to have this extended if it is required. 

In Scotland, a person has occupancy rights to stay in the family home when they either:

• own the home
• are named as a tenant on the tenancy agreement, or
• is married or in a civil partnership with someone in one of the two categories above.

A forced marriage protection order - can protect you from being forced to marry someone and offers protections to those who are already in a forced marriage.  A solicitor can apply to the courts for this on your behalf, if you are too afraid to report it to the police. 

England, Wales and Northern Ireland - There are two types of injunctions: An occupation order and a non-molestation order.

A non-molestation order is a court order which may prevent your abuser from using or threatening violence, intimidating or harassing you. 

An occupation order is a court order that controls who can live in the family home.  The order also has the potential to exclude the abusive person from the surrounding area.

You can apply for either or both of these through the courts. If you need an injunction urgently, you can seek an emergency one without the abuser’s knowledge, which can be issues at the judge’s discretion. However, this is only temporary and you would still need to apply for one of the other court orders if you need it to be more permanent. 

You can apply for a non-molestation order or an occupation order using a free tool called CourtNav that’s run by "RJS Citizens Advice", which is a Citizens Advice office specialising in legal services.

The CourtNav system will help you identify the best way to move forward. It will also check if you can get legal aid to help with your legal costs and locate a legal aid solicitor if you are entitled to it, or it can help you apply to the court yourself for the civil orders. 
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