Protective Orders Against Domestic or Intimate Partner Violence

According to the Texas Council on Family Violence, 204 Texans were victims of intimate partner homicide (169 women and 35 men, including 12 LGBTQ+ victims) in 2021. 72% were killed at home. Three times as many victims were killed with a firearm than all other means combined. The ages of the victims ranged from 16 to 85 years old. For more comprehensive data on intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and stalking victimization in the U.S., consider looking through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS). The CDC also provides a list of risk factors for intimate partner violence perpetration.

Protective orders can significantly reduce the risk of domestic or intimate partner violence.

A victim of domestic violence is entitled to a protective order if the court finds that family violence has occurred and is likely to occur in the future. "Family violence" includes dating violence, which the Texas Family Code defines as an act, other than a defensive measure to protect oneself, by an actor that: (1) is committed against a victim with whom the actor has or has had a dating relationship; and (2) is intended to result in physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault or that is a threat that reasonably places the victim in fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault. "Dating relationship" as a relationship between individuals who have or have had a continuing relationship of a romantic or intimate nature.

The court's protective order may prohibit the perpetrator of family violence from: 

(1) committing family violence; 

(2) communicating: 

(A) directly with a person protected by an order or a member of the family or household of a person protected by an order, in a threatening or harassing manner; 

(B) a threat through any person to a person protected by an order or a member of the family or household of a person protected by an order; and 

(C) if the court finds good cause, in any manner with a person protected by an order or a member of the family or household of a person protected by an order, except through the party’s attorney or a person appointed by the court; 

(3) going to or near the residence or place of employment or business of a person protected by an order or a member of the family or household of a person protected by an order; 

(4) going to or near the residence, child-care facility, or school a child protected under the order normally attends or in which the child normally resides; 

(5) engaging in conduct directed specifically toward a person who is a person protected by an order or a member of the family or household of a person protected by an order, including following the person, that is reasonably likely to harass, annoy, alarm, abuse, torment, or embarrass the person; 

(6) possessing a firearm, unless the person is a peace officer actively engaged in employment as a sworn, full-time paid employee of a state agency or political subdivision; 

(7) harming, threatening, or interfering with the care, custody, or control of a pet, companion animal, or assistance animal that is possessed by or is in the actual or constructive care of a person protected by an order or by a member of the family or household of a person protected by an order; and 

(8) tracking or monitoring personal property or a motor vehicle in the possession of a person protected by an order or of a member of the family or household of a person protected by an order, without the person’s effective consent, including by: 

(A) using a tracking application on a personal electronic device in the possession of the person or the family or household member or using a tracking device; or 

(B) physically following the person or the family or household member or causing another to physically follow the person or member.

The court’s protective order may also prohibit the perpetrator from removing a child who is a member of the family or household from the victim’s possession, grant possession of a residence to the victim, order the perpetrator to vacate a residence, grant custody of a child to the victim, or require the perpetrator to pay support to the victim or for the benefit of a child. 

Leaving an abusive marriage or other intimate relationship can be a very upsetting and intimidating experience. If you or someone close to you is in an abusive situation and would like to discuss the process involved in obtaining a protective order, please schedule a consultation today. Consultations are completely confidential. Do not rely on this post as legal advice. This post does not create an attorney-client relationship between the Firm and the reader. Do not act in reliance on the contents of this post without seeking the advice of counsel.