What is Domestic Violence (DV)?
Domestic violence is when one person behaves in a way that controls or dominates another person and causes fear for their safety and wellbeing. Domestic violence is usually a pattern of abusive and controlling behaviour taking many forms, happening in intimate, family or informal care relationships.
What behaviours constitute DV?
In In Queensland, domestic violence includes a wide range of behaviours that control or dominate someone, or cause someone them to fear for their personal safety or wellbeing. These behaviours include, but are not limited to:
physical or sexual abuse such as punching, hitting, choking, or threatening to punch or hit, forcing a person to take part in sexual acts, and damaging or threatening to damage someone’s property;
emotional or psychological abuse such as stalking, repeated text messaging, making insulting comments, calling someone names, blackmailing or extorting, and preventing contact with family and/or friends;
economic abuse such as denying, withholding, controlling or misusing money or property, or threatening to do so;
threatening behaviour such as saying or acting in a way to make someone feel afraid; and
coercive behaviour such as forcing, intimidating or manipulating a person to do things they don’t want to do.
What are DV relationships?
DV is when the behaviours listed above occur in the following relationships:
an intimate personal relationship where there are two people (regardless of gender) who are, or were, a couple, engaged, married, in a de facto relationship, the parents of a child or in a registered;
a family relationship where there are two relatives (by marriage or blood), including a child over 18, parent, stepchild, stepparent, brother, sister, grandparent, aunt, uncle, nephew or niece; and
an informal care relationship where is one person who is, or was, depending on another person for help with daily living activities.
What is a DV Order?
A domestic violence order (DVO) is an official document issued by the court to stop threats or acts of domestic violence. A DVO sets out rules that the person who has committed domestic violence against you, the ‘respondent’, must obey. It is designed to keep the person who has had violence against them, the ‘aggrieved’, safe by making it illegal for the respondent to behave in specific ways.
Types of DVOs:
Temporary protection order (TPO): A TPO is an order you can ask for if you are in danger right now. The aggrieved or the police can apply for a TPO which can be considered early by a Magistrate. A TPO is generally made for a short time to protect those in danger up until the date that a magistrate can decide the application for a full protection order.
Protection Order (PO): A PO is an order made by a Magistrate in court to protect people in domestic and family violence situations. Generally, most protection orders last for five years; however, the order can be made for a shorter or longer period at the court’s discretion.
Breaching a TPO or PO:
It is a criminal offence to disobey any of the conditions of a TPO or PO. If the respondent breaches the DVO in anyway, the aggrieved should call the police immediately on 000. The police have a duty to investigate the DV and can charge the respondent with breaching the DVO. The respondent would then need to appear before the court for the criminal offence. For a breach, the respondent could face up to three years in jail the first time they are found guilty of a breach, and up to five years if they breach again within five years.
If you need assistance in relation to any DV matter, please do not hesitate to contact our team at GC Crime Lawyers. We understand that people need help in these situations or that people make these kinds of mistakes, and we will work to get you the best outcome possible. Contact us today on 1300 127 463 to discuss your circumstances with an experienced lawyer today.