Some relationships and family relations can be abusive and parties can suffer violence. Sometimes when relationships breakdown violence increases and causes distress and upset. Being violent towards another person is a criminal offence and should be reported to the Police immediately. Some people do not have the courage to report the abuse to the Police as they fear the repercussions or have been badly let down by the criminal system in the past as it is not quick and it does not usually offer effective or immediate protection to the victim. The Family Law Act is able to provide the protection.

More immediate protection from violence may be gained through the family courts under a Non-Molestation Order ‘Injunction Order’. An injunction order is a Court order which will forbid the person named in the order from doing certain things taking certain steps, for example;

• From using violence against you
• From threatening, harassing or pestering you
• A person may be ordered to leave the home that they have shared with you and be forbidden to return
• The person may be forbidden to come within a certain distance of the home

If an injunction order has been obtained and it is broken the person who breaks the Order will have committed a criminal offence and will be arrested and will be brought before a criminal court and they could be sent to prison. The punishment for breach of the Order will then be dealt with by the criminal courts and is therefore a very serious offence.

In some circumstances the Court can make an Occupation Order which may exclude the person who has been violent from the home. The Court will look at there is a risk of further harm being suffered or further violence taking place if the person is not excluded. Occupation orders are generally only made in a few cases.