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The Protection from Abuse Act (PFA) is a law providing court protection for a woman and her children when the woman’s husband has physically abused her. Like a divorce, it is brought in the Domestic Relations section of the court. It is important that you understand it is not a divorce. You will still be married, and in that sense it is more like a legal separation.

The PFA expects that you will live separately from your husband, at least for a while. We do not recommend that a woman file for help under the Protection from Abuse Act unless she is sure that, despite any promises or changes that her husband may make, she wants to live separate and apart from him for at least four (4) months and probably as much as six (6) to eight (8) months. If you are unsure about this, you should do some more talking before filing an action under the PFA.

Using the PFA, you can get a temporary protection order the day you file in court. The court will set your case for a hearing in about two (2) weeks. The sheriff will serve your husband with a copy of the petition for protection and the temporary order. He will learn about the hearing and be given an opportunity to appear at the hearing.

At the hearing, the court will decide issues about the children (custody, child support and visitation.) In addition to continuing the temporary protection order, the court can also rule on who can live in the home you and your husband shared. It can also divide up any furniture or other property that you owned together. After you file the case and get your temporary order, you should speak with your shelter worker or lawyer more about what will happen at the hearing.

What you can get in the PFA proceedings is very much like what you get in a divorce. With the PFA, you can get these things in a matter of a couple of weeks, while with a divorce it would take more like four (4) months to get any of these things. About the only thing that cannot be done in a PFA proceeding is making someone sell land.

The PFA order issued after the hearing will be temporary. It is good only for one (1) year. During this year it is a court order and just as effective and enforceable as any other order of court. In addition, if your husband violates the order, the police can arrest him.

Usually, the only cost is the filing fee. Depending on where you live, this will be between $150 and $170. If you are too poor to pay, the Judge may let you file the PFA on an affidavit of hardship, which puts the fee off until the end of the hearing. At that time the Judge will order your husband or you to pay the filing fee at the Clerk's office in the court house. If you drop the PFA before the hearing, you would still owe the fee.

If you are in immediate danger you should call 911 or the police. If you need a safe place for you and/or your children to go you can call the Statewide Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-650-6522 for the shelter nearest you. Help is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. If you are out of state, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). If you are deaf, call the TTY number, 1-800-787-3224. You can get a list of shelters in Alabama at ACADV: List of Member Shelters.  Here you can also find a Map of Shelters showing where they are located in Alabama.