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Domestic Violence Orders

A Domes­tic Vio­lence Order (DVO) is a civ­il order made by the Police or a Judge that tells some­one not to engage in vio­lent or abu­sive behav­iour towards a per­son (or peo­ple) they are in a domes­tic rela­tion­ship with. DVOs are put in place to pro­tect the safe­ty and well-being of the pro­tect­ed person(s).

Who is involved in a DVO?

  • Appli­cant: The per­son request­ing the DVO (often the vic­tim of domes­tic violence).
  • Defen­dant: The per­son against whom the DVO is being applied.
  • Pro­tect­ed Person(s): The person(s) being pro­tect­ed by the DVO.

When can a DVO be made?
A DVO can be grant­ed if the fol­low­ing three con­di­tions are met:

  1. There is a domes­tic rela­tion­ship between the pro­tect­ed person(s) and the defen­dant (this can include inti­mate part­ners, fam­i­ly mem­bers, or oth­er house­hold members).
  2. The defen­dant has com­mit­ted domes­tic vio­lence against the pro­tect­ed person(s).
  3. It is rea­son­able to believe that the defen­dant may com­mit domes­tic vio­lence again.

Once grant­ed, a DVO is usu­al­ly in place for a set peri­od of time. After the DVO expires, it is no longer enforce­able. If need­ed, a new DVO can be applied for.

What can a DVO include?
The appli­cant can ask for var­i­ous con­di­tions to be includ­ed in the DVO to pro­tect the safe­ty of the pro­tect­ed person(s). Com­mon con­di­tions in a DVO may include:

Type of Domes­tic Vio­lence Orders
No Vio­lence DVO Non-Intox­i­cat­ed DVO No Con­tact DVO
This order pre­vents the defen­dant from:
Caus­ing harm, threat­en­ing harm or attempt­ing harm Drink­ing alco­hol or using illic­it drugs in the pres­ence of the pro­tect­ed person(s) If the par­ties have chil­dren, there may be an excep­tion allow­ing the defen­dant to con­tact the pro­tect­ed per­son (s) to make arrange­ments for the children
Dam­ag­ing prop­er­ty, or threat­en­ing to dam­age property Con­tact­ing the pro­tect­ed person(s) while under the influ­ence of alco­hol or drugs. Con­tact­ing or com­ing near the pro­tect­ed person(s), includ­ing places they reg­u­lar­ly go
Intim­i­dat­ing, harass­ing or ver­bal­ly abus­ing the pro­tect­ed person(s) Using third par­ties to con­tact the pro­tect­ed person(s).

How can some­one apply for a DVO?

If some­one needs a DVO, they can seek help from legal ser­vices such as KWILS lawyers or oth­er local legal ser­vices. These pro­fes­sion­als can guide indi­vid­u­als through the process of apply­ing for a DVO and help ensure safety.