Topic: Civil law

Victims  of domestic violence can get protection from abuse under the civil law through a court order (called an injunction or protection order). These orders can help prevent further abuse to the survivor and her children, remove the abuser from the home and keep him away. The application is usually made through a solicitor, either to the family proceedings court or the county court. 

 

Injunctions
Applications for injunctions are made under Part IV of the Family Law Act 1996.  Recent legislation – the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act, 2004 – aims to strengthen the enforcement of civil injunctions, by making breach of a non-molestation order a criminal offence.

The most recent annual figures for domestic violence injunctions state that 16, 937 applications for non-molestation orders were made through the county court
(Judicial Statistics 2006)

 See here for an overview of protection under the civil law