A powerful tool for civil, criminal, family and juvenile courts seeking immediate intervention into an unstable and violent family situation is issuance of a temporary “no contact” order of protection, directing the defendant to stay away from the victim. Once issued, these orders can be extended or modified, as needed. Since 1994, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have had some form of order of protection. Summaries of state civil protection orders in cases of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking/harassment may be found at the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence website.

If the law in your jurisdiction does not enumerate forms of sexual assault as conduct that will support issuance of an order of protection, consider how facts constituting sexual assault might fit into other categories of offense that would support an order, such as harassment, menacing or assault. A victim may be unwilling to proceed with seeking court assistance if her only option is pursuing a felony rape complaint, particularly the first time she seeks help from the courts. Summary dismissal of a civil petition may discourage her from seeking any help. The court may lose an important opportunity to intervene to protect a victim.

Abusers who stalk or continue to impose their presence upon a victim, despite court orders directing them to refrain, are among the most dangerous (Johnson, Physical Abusers and Sexual Offenders, at 23-24, 261 (2007)). When an offender violates a no-contact order, not only does he commit a new offense, he also provides the court with important information signaling a heightened level of risk to the victim. Orders of protection are most effective in reducing fear, abuse and violence against women when their abusive intimate partner does not engage in stalking behavior. See Reichard, Are Protection Orders Effective in Reducing Intimate Partner Violence? (2014).

When the abuser violates the terms of a protective order, not only does the offender put the victim at elevated risk, but he may face additional charges of criminal contempt for violating the order. Under the Federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), such orders must be given full faith and credit in all 50 states, provided that procedural standards have been complied with (18 U.S.C. § 2265).