For legal help you should contact a solicitor specialising in family law - or go to your local law centre.

If you have no money, you may be able to get legal aid to pay for the legal help you get.

Your solicitor can use the law to advise you about the future welfare of your children and can advise you about divorce or separation.

If you have had to leave your home for your or your children's safety they can help you get back home by regaining possession of your house tenancy.

They can also help you take out an injunction, which will protect you and your children from being beaten or harassed. The injunction can also order the person to leave the family home.

INJUNCTIONS

If you are being threatened or harassed by another person, it is sometimes possible to take out an injunction against that person as a way of protecting yourself and keeping them away from you. Although injunctions can be issued for a number of reasons one of the most common is because a person has been the victim of domestic abuse.

If you are under 16, domestic abuse is categorised as child abuse and you need to get help from a teacher, school counsellor or social worker.

If you are over 16 you can get help obtaining an injunction against a partner you're living with, or are married to. Injunctions can also be taken out against any 'associated' persons. This could be a former or current partner, husband, wife or relative.

What is an injunction?

Domestic violence injunctions stop a person from doing something. You can get them through a solicitor, from a County Court or a Magistrates Court, or apply directly by yourself. If you are worried that you may not have enough money to cover the costs, you may be eligible for legal aid. You can find out more about this from your local Citizens Advice Bureau, Law Centre or Family Law Solicitor.

An injunction is not the same as a Restraining Order. Restraining Orders come into place after a defendant has been convicted or has broken an injunction.

How do they work?

This depends on the type of injunction, and whether they have powers of arrest attached to them. This decides whether the police can arrest your abuser if he or she breaks the terms of the injunction.

Types Of Injunction

An Undertaking

Your partner has to promise the court not to threaten, assault or harass you. If they do they are in 'Contempt of Court' and could be sent to prison.

Occupation Order

Decides who can live in the home (in the short term) that you previously shared with your abusive partner. Can keep someone away from your home

Anti-harassment Injunction (under the Protection from Harassment Act 1997)

• Stops your partner harassing or assaulting you.
• Breaching this injunction is an arrestable offence carrying up to 5 years in prison.
• The harassment has to have happened on two separate occasions - these can be months apart, and don't have to be of the same nature.
• Fear of an offence can also be a breach too - i.e. they don't have to actually hurt you.
• It can be obtained from a County Court or a High Court.

Power of Arrest

Makes sure the police have the power to arrest your partner if they break an injunction against them. The most important thing to remember when you are trying to get 'power of arrest' is that you can show that:

• Your partner has used violence against you OR
• Has threatened violence AND
• Is likely to do it again

Common Law Injunction (No Power of Arrest)

Can help when you're not married and not living together

Can stop someone assaulting or harassing you, or trespassing on your property, or coming within a certain distance of your home or work.

Doesn't include power of arrest.

Non-molestation Order

Prevents someone from using or threatening violence and also forbids them from intimidating, harassing or pestering you.

If you're in doubt about what 'assault' means, talk to a domestic violence officer through your local police station. They are specially trained to deal with situations involving violent partners.

How to get help with an injunction

If you are worried about someone's behaviour towards you and feel you may need to think about getting an injunction, you can get more advice from your local police station, Citizens Advice Bureau, Women's Aid Group, South Manchester Law Centre or North Manchester Law Centre. You could also talk to a solicitor or the domestic violence helplines on this page.