• Committing any act of violence against you, your children, or others living with you.
• Living in your home.
• Contacting you or visiting your home, workplace, or other specified place.
• Taking your children. You can ask for temporary custody of the children you and the abuser have together.
• Refusing to go to counseling. You can include a request for referral to the Batterers’ Intervention Program or mandatory counseling in your injunction.

An Order of Protection can be granted even if you have never called the police or pressed charges against your abuser. You only have to prove that you have reason to fear your partner and that fear is based on some serious threat or past violence. Keep your Order with you at all times! If your abuser violates the Order, he/she can be arrested.

Additionally, this is an especially dangerous time because you have taken an action that lessens the abuser’s sense of control. On the next page are some frequently asked questions about Orders of Protection.