What is a domestic dispute? Often, it is the same thing as domestic violence. Many people think of domestic violence as physical abuse, but it can also be verbal or emotional abuse. Police called to a domestic dispute know that often someone has committed an act of intimate violence. If you are a victim of domestic violence, it’s essential to understand how the law can help protect you and any children.
What is Domestic Violence in North Carolina?
Legally defined, domestic violence is any incident of assault, battery, kidnapping, sexual battery, stalking, trespassing, or other criminal offense committed by family, ex-family, same or ex-household members, or intimate partners against each other.
North Carolina specific laws defining domestic abuse include when domestic abusers:
- Attempt to cause bodily injury
- Intentionally cause bodily injury
- Place you or a member of your family or household in fear of imminent serious bodily injury or continued harassment at such a level that you or others feel emotional distress.
- Commit any act defined as forcible rape or sexual battery
The NCCADV defines domestic violence as “the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault, and/or other abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner against another. It includes physical violence, sexual violence, psychological violence, and emotional abuse.”
When someone calls for police intervention, there is generally a domestic assault, verbal or physical altercation, threats, or family violence. Often alcohol abuse plays a part also.
Domestic Violence Statistics in the United States
A report by the US Department of Justice, “Practical Implications of Current Domestic Violence Research,” shows that:
- Domestic violence-related police calls constitute the single largest category of calls received by the police!
- 65% of such calls in upstate New York pertained to criminal conduct.
- If there is physical abuse in domestic violence, studies suggest that there is probably sexual abuse as well. A Texas study found that almost 70 percent of women seeking protective orders were raped, most (79 percent) repeatedly.
- According to the Supplementary Homicide Reports of the FBI‟s Uniform Crime Reporting Program in 2005, 1,181 females and 329 males were killed by their intimate partners.
- According to the Washington State Domestic Violence Fatality Review, between 1997 and 2004, there were 313 domestic violence fatality cases in that state involving 416 homicides, including 23 children, 32 friends/family members of primary intimate partner victims, 19 new boyfriends of primary intimate victims, 9 abusers killed by law enforcement, 10 abusers killed by a friend or family member of victims. 93 abusers committed suicide after killing their victim(s).
As you can see, domestic violence is not limited to only the abuser and their intimate partner. Domestic abuse spills over to other members of the household or family. And domestic homicides often occur in domestic violence situations where a battered woman or man does not take action to find safety.
Domestic Violence Protective Orders (DVPO)
In North Carolina, laws exist to protect individuals experiencing domestic violence. The term “50B” refers to a protective order (DVPO) you can receive from a court.
If you live in North Carolina, regardless of citizenship or immigration status, you can file for a DVPO. Once you file for the order and receive the DVPO, your domestic abuser can face immediate arrest if they violate the DVPO orders. Let’s look at what those orders include next.
The Power of a Legal Protective Restraining Order
As a battered woman or man facing domestic violence, you may obtain a DVPO issuing protections for you and your household that may include:
- Giving you possession of the household and excluding the abusive partner
- Requiring the abusive partner to provide you (as spouse) and children suitable alternate housing
- Awarding you temporary custody and establishing temporary child visitation rights
- Ordering eviction of the abusive partner from residence and assistance for you to return home
- Ordering abusive partner to support minor children (if required by law)
- Giving you possession of combined personal property, including a pet or a minor child
- Ordering an abusive partner to support you as a spouse (if required by law)
- Awarding you attorney fees
- Prohibiting the abusive partner from purchasing a firearm for a specified amount of time
- Ordering additional requirements necessary to protect any party or minor child
- Ordering sheriff to deliver protective order to school principals named in the order
- Ordering the abusive partner to attend and complete an abuser treatment program approved by the Domestic Violence Commission
A protective order can also order the abusive partner to refrain from doing any or all of the following:
- Contacting you directly or indirectly, including thru third parties
- Threatening, abusing, or following you
- Harassing you by phone
- Harassing you by visiting your home or workplace or by other means
- Treating a household pet cruelly
- Interfering with you in other ways (2)
Emergency Protective Orders (Ex Parte Order)
If you’re in an emergency situation and need an order of protection immediately, you may apply for one. The court can then grant relief before they notify your domestic abuser of the request for an order of protection.
An emergency (ex parte) DVPO may require your abusive household member to:
- Leave your home (regardless of who pays rent or mortgage)
- Stay away from their own children
- Give up possession of a motor vehicle
- Surrender their “firearms, ammunition, and gun permits” to the sheriff
If the defendant violates the firearms portion of the order, officers can bring charges for various felonies. If you face immediate danger from a domestic violence abuser, speak with an experienced DVPO attorney to file an ex-parte order and find immediate safety for you and any children.
We Can Help
At Cape Fear Law, our experienced DVPO attorneys can help you, and any children or family members in your household find safety. If you need to file for a domestic violence protective order, our attorneys can help. Give us a call today or learn more about how a DVPO works.