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LEGAL PROTECTION AVAILABLE TO WOMEN EXPERIENCING DOMESTIC ABUSE.

Domestic abuse is dealt with under the criminal and civil law. These two systems are separate and dealt with by separate courts.

The aim of the civil system is protecting the victim. A victim of domestic abuse can make an application to either the Family Proceedings Court or the County Court for an injunction.

The primary aim of the criminal system is punishment of the offender. Depending on the severity of the charge, criminal cases are either heard in the Magistrate’s Court or the Crown Court.

The routes available to victims will depend on various factors:

• The severity and/ or nature of the violence or harassment;
• The familial relationship between the victim and the abuser;
• The stricter burden of proof required by the criminal courts compared to the civil courts. In criminal proceedings a case has to be proven ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ whereas in civil proceedings the court will arrive at its decision on the ‘balance of probabilities’; and
• The wishes of the survivors about the protection they require from the law.