Unfortunately, reported cases of domestic violence are now on the increase. It is now thought that up to 25% of people in relationships suffer violence at the hands of their partner. It is however, essential to realise that domestic violence is not a fact of life. It is not right that you should put up with any violence from your partner, former partner or even members of his or her family or associates. Domestic violence does not only involve physical attacks. It can involve harrassment, nuisance telephone calls, verbal abuse, threats, pestering or annoyance at your home or at your place of work or elsewhere. In appropriate cases the Court can attach a Power of Arrest to any order that is obtained so that, in the event of a breach, the police can arrest the other party and take them to a judge for further action. If the case is especially urgent then we can obtain an injunction for you within hours of your initial instruction and without notice to the other party. Such injunctions are usually temporary in nature and do require you to attend court. Once an order has been obtained it is served on the other party and a further hearing is arranged and all of the parties would need to attend.

We can also obtain Occupation Orders. These are orders in relation to the property and who actually lives there. The Court has the power to order the other party to leave for a specified time and not return, or even not to come within so many yards of the property.

As with all aspects of Family Law, we shall see if there is any scope for resolving the situation without the need to make a formal application to the Court for an Injunction and this could either be through liaising with the Police to writing a warning letter to your partner.