Domestic Violence Injunctions

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Married Couples

If you own property together, or if you have an interest in the property, or an agreement allowing you to live in the property. Or the law says you are entitled to live in the property because you have certain rights, for example, because you are married and the property is the matrimonial home, the following injunction orders can be applied for:

Non-Molestation Orders

This is an order to stop your partner 'molesting' you or your children. Molesting means harassing, pestering or interfering with you or your children in some way, and also includes assault. 'Assault' can mean pushing, punching, slapping, throwing objects, spitting at you etc.

Occupation Orders

These are orders which decide who should carry on living in the home in the short-term after there has been violence or harassment etc. The orders can include the following:

• Allow you to remain in the home if your partner is trying to get you out.
• Allow you back into the home if your partner has already thrown you out or is preventing you going back into the home.
• Exclude your partner from all or part of the home.
• Impose a set of rules about living in the home.
• State that you and your partner must live in separate parts of the home.
• Exclude your partner from coming within a certain distance of your home.
• Order your partner to leave the home or a part of it.
• If you do not own the property and have not paid towards the cost of the property you can obtain an order which says that you are still entitled to live in the property because you have 'matrimonial rights'. You can also get an order that this right will not end if your partner dies or you and your partner divorce. However, your partner can apply to the court to try and end your 'matrimonial rights' or restrict them.

Power of Arrest

This can be attached to an injunction and will give the police power to arrest your partner if he or she breaks the order. To obtain a power of arrest you need to show that your partner has used violence against you or has threatened to use violence and he or she is likely to do so again.

The articles on legal topics published in these pages are for interest only and are necessarily general in their terms. You should not act (or refrain from acting) on the basis of the information given without specific advice, as the principles and laws concerned may change, and their application will vary according to the particular circumstances.