What if I am unsafe?

Call 911 and/or get to a safe place immediately.

• If possible, take your children and important documents with you such as birth certificate, passport, social security cards, Medicaid or health insurance cards, ATM cards and bank account numbers, the lease or deed to your home.
• Safety Planning is very important.  The following domestic violence hotlines and local shelters can help you come up with a plan.
• D.C. Domestic Violence Hotline:  202-223-2255
• House of Ruth:  202-347-2777
• My Sister?s Place:  202-529-5991
• Break the Cycle (ages 12-24): 202-824-0707 or 888-988-TEEN
• Deaf Abused Women's Network:  TTY - 202-861-0258; Fax - 202-466-3226
• Jewish Coalition Against Domestic Abuse:  888-883-2323 or 301-529-0073
• National Domestic Violence Hotline:  1-800-799-SAFE
• National Domestic Violence Hotline (TTY):  1-800-787-3224
• National Center for Victims of Crime

•  An abuser can track your computer use in many ways, such as accessing your email inbox and sent mail and looking at a history of the web sites you visit.  You may want to use a ?safe? computer he or she cannot access ? at a library, community center or a friend?s home.
• Click the link below to learn more ways to protect yourself.

•  Domestic violence is a pattern of abusive behavior that one intimate partner uses to maintain a position of power over his or her partner.  It is not necessarily hitting or beating.  Some behaviors often used to get and keep control include:
• Intimidating you and making you afraid;
• Physically assaulting you  (hitting, pushing, kicking, shoving, spitting);
• Threatening (with words or actions) to physically assault you;
• Sexually abusing you (forcing or coercing you);
• Stalking (following or harassing you repeatedly in a way that scares you);
• Emotionally abusing you (with put downs, name calling, constant criticism);
• Psychological abuse (destroying property, hurting pets, threats to hurt you, your children or pets, threats of suicide, threats to call immigration);
• Isolating you from family and friends;
• Economic abuse (interfering with your ability to get or keep a job or go to school, controlling the money).
• While all of those things are abusive, the law will only protect you from certain things.  Each state has its own laws about domestic violence.  Go to www.womenslaw.org to find out about other states and to see other resources on D.C. law.

In D.C., domestic violence is called an intrafamily offense.  An intrafamily offense is anything that could be punished as a criminal offense (type of conduct), when it is committed by someone related to you in certain ways (relationship).

• Type of Conduct.  Domestic violence might include crimes such as:
• Assault or threats to assault - for example, hitting you, trying to hit you, verbally threatening to hit you, or pointing a weapon at you.
• Kidnapping - for example, taking you somewhere against your will or not letting you leave your home.
• Stalking.
• Rape, sexual abuse, or other unwanted sexual touching - this includes using threats to get you to engage in sexual conduct.
• Cruelty to children.
• Destroying property or threatening to damage property (for example, slashing your car tires or hurting your pet).
• Relationship.  D.C. law also defines domestic violence by the relationship between the abuser and the victim. The person who abused you must be related to you by one of the following:
• Blood (parent, child, sibling, or other relative).
• Marriage.
• Legal custody.
• Having a child in common.
• Sharing a residence, now or in the past.
• Having a romantic or dating relationship (sexual or non-sexual), now or in the past.
• Note:  If you are being stalked, even if you have no other relationship with the stalker, you are protected by D.C. law.  Keep reading to learn what you can do.

The Police

• The police are required to report all allegations of domestic violence. 
• In addition, D.C. has a mandatory arrest policy in cases of domestic violence.  This means that if the police have probable cause to believe that an interfamily offense occurred, they will arrest the offender or apply for an arrest warrant, whether you want them to do so or not.

Criminal Prosecution

• The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia will usually file criminal charges if there was an arrest for domestic violence.  If the U.S. Attorney's Office does not start a criminal case on their own, you can ask them about starting one.
• In a criminal case, it is the U.S. Attorney's Office against the abuser, not you against the abuser.  However, as the victim of the crime, you may be called as a witness.
• Keep in mind that once the U.S. Attorney's Office files a criminal case, it is up to them whether to drop it, not you.

Civil Protection Orders

• This is a not a criminal case. 
• This is a case that you can file to ask the court to order the abuser to stay away from you and to stop harming you.

There are two types of protection orders. 

Civil Protection Order (CPO):

• If you prove that the abuser committed an intrafamily offense, the judge can give you a CPO that lasts for up to one year. 
• The CPO can order the abuser to stop hurting or harassing you, to stay away from you and to have no contact with you.
• If the abuser does not obey the order, the court may take additional steps to protect you, including putting the abuser in jail.

Temporary Protection Order (?TPO?)

• In an emergency situation, you can get a temporary protection order on the same day you ask for it.
• If you prove that your safety and welfare (or that of a family member) is in immediate danger, the judge can issue a temporary protection order.
• A TPO usually lasts for 14 days.
• You file your request for a TPO at the same time as your request for a CPO.  A hearing on your request for a CPO will be scheduled for a date before the TPO expires.
• You can let the TPO expire if you feel safe after 14 days, or you can go to the CPO hearing and request a CPO.
• The abuser has a right to go to the CPO hearing and tell the judge his or her side.

• The protection order could order the abuser to stop hurting you, harassing you or threatening you. 
• It could also order the abuser to stay away from you (and your home, school, work, etc.).
• In some situations, it could also:
• Order that the abuser to leave a home you live in together.
• Make temporary custody, visitation and support arrangements.
• Order the abuser to attend counseling programs for domestic violence, parenting skills, or alcohol or drug abuse.

• You can file for a TPO or CPO up to two years after the abuse.
• If you can safely file sooner, you might be able to prove your case more easily.  It may be harder for the judge to make a decision about something that happened a long time ago.

• The Domestic Violence Intake Center at D.C. Superior Court:
• Where: 500 Indiana Avenue, NW Washington, DC, Fourth Floor Room 4242.
• When:  Weekdays from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM.
• Phone: 202-879-0152.
• The Domestic Violence Intake Center at Greater Southeast Hospital: 
• Where: 1328 Southern Avenue, SE, Washington, DC, Room 311.
• When:  Weekdays from 8:30 AM to 4:00 PM.
• Phone: 202-561-3000.

• If you go to the Domestic Violence Intake Center (DVIC), a counselor will explain the process and help you file a petition describing the history of abuse.
• After you file the Petition, someone (not you!) must give a copy of the court papers to the abuser. The DVIC counselor will help you arrange this.
• Upon request, the Metropolitan Police Department will attempt to serve the papers, and may also be able to make arrangements to have the papers served by Maryland law enforcement if the abuser is in Maryland.

Before the Hearing

• An attorney-negotiator will be available in the court. The attorney-negotiator will talk with you about what you want, and then will talk to the abuser to see if he or she agrees.
• If the abuser agrees, you can get a consent order ? you write down the agreement and present it to the judge to sign ? and you do not have to have a hearing in front of the judge.
• If the abuser does not agree, the judge will hold a hearing the same day.

At the Hearing

• The judge will give each of you a chance to testify about what happened.  
• The judge might also listen to any witnesses you bring to testify, and might look at other evidence such as hospital records, police reports or photographs.
• Depending on the circumstances, the judge might also postpone the hearing (called a ?continuance?) to allow more time to:
• gather evidence;
• serve the abuser with the petition;
• or find an attorney.

• If the abuser has not been served with the Petition, the judge may continue the case to allow more time to try to serve him or her.
• If the abuser was properly served with the Petition, the judge can go ahead with the hearing (called a ?default hearing?).  You would tell the judge what happened, and if the judge decides that the abuser committed an intrafamily offense against you, the judge will issue a CPO.

• Disobeying a CPO is a criminal offense. If the abuser violates any part of the CPO, you can call the police and report it.
• You can file for civil or criminal contempt, telling the court about the violation.  The Domestic Violence Intake Center can assist you with this.
• The penalty for criminal contempt could be up to six months in jail and/or a fine of up to $1000.