Violence and abuse

Where you are subjected to domestic violence or cruelty by your partner or spouse you can apply to the Court for protection.  The Court has the power to regulate who can live in the house and define what is acceptable behaviour between the parties and towards any children.  Breach of an Order will usually mean that the police will arrest the party in breach and bring them before the Magistrates court to be dealt with.

Domestic violence can happen at all levels of society and in all relationships.  It usually happens behind closed doors when nobody else is around. There are normally a large number of incidents before an abused party seeks help, either because of embarrassment, fear of the abuser, lack of knowledge, the fact that the abused person still cares for the abuser, fear they will not be believed or of being alone, or a combination of all or any of these. 

Research dating back to the 1990's and beyond has shown that while a single incident of violence may be a one-off, as soon as there is more than one incident there is a pattern which will keep repeating itself.  The violence is also likely to escalate over time, with there being a large number of relationships which have ended with the death of one of the parties.

The police used not to take domestic violence seriously, based upon a perception that the victim would usually withdraw the complaint before it came to court.  Nowadays they accept that it needs to be society, not the individual, who is necessarily telling the abuser their conduct is not acceptable.  This has led to an increase in prosecutions of abusive partners for assault. However, the police will not always take control and this is when you will need to obtain an injunction to protect you.

Don't be a victim.  Call us on (01525) 373322 or e-mail us to discuss how we can help.