When a person has had domestic abuse committed against them, one thing that can be incredibly important is protecting them from further harm from the abuser. One mechanism that the legal system here in Texas has for providing such protection are protective orders. Family violence victims generally can pursue to have such an order put in place against their abuser.
Sadly, there are many different ways that a domestic violence perpetrator can attempt to inflict further harm on their victim. Texas protective order law takes this into account and gives courts the discretion to put all manner of different restrictions on domestic violence perpetrators in protective orders.
Thus, there are many different things protective orders can be aimed at protecting domestic violence victims from. Here are some of the things that protective orders can prohibit domestic violence perpetrators from doing:
- Perpetrating further domestic violence against the victim.
- Going to the victim’s residence. Protective orders also can require a perpetrator to vacate a residence if they live with the victim.
- Going to the victim’s place of work.
- Threatening the victim or the victim’s family.
- Communicating with the victim or the victim’s family.
- Doing harm to the victim’s pet.
- Possessing a gun.
What specific prohibitions a given protective order places on a domestic violence perpetrator depends on what terms the court issuing the order decides to put into the order.
Family law attorneys can help domestic abuse victims figure out what sort of terms/restrictions they should consider requesting that a protective order contain and can assist them with the process of filing for a protective order.