Domestic violence is defined under Florida law as any assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death of one family household member by another. Florida law provides protection against violence in the form of temporary or permanent injunctions, also commonly known as restraining orders.

To obtain protection against domestic violence, a family or household member must file a petition with the court. This person is known as the petitioner. The respondent here is the abuser, legally known as the person who answers a petition.

No acts of violence need to have occurred prior to filing so long as the petitioner has a reasonable fear that domestic violence is about to occur. A petitioner may ask for protection in any court where the petitioner or the respondent currently lives or where the violence occurred. The petitioner must provide the court with specific facts that he or she has been a victim of domestic abuse or is in danger of abuse in the very near future. The court then holds a hearing to assess the parties’ danger and the petitioner’s right to protection.

If the petitioner is in great danger the court has the power to issue an ex-parte temporary injunction, which is a temporary injunction against the respondent before a hearing on the specific allegations of domestic abuse. The court may enter a temporary injunction without the necessity of an immediate hearing based upon the sworn allegations in the petition. A temporary injunction lasts for a period of 15 days, but may be extended.

After hearing the specific allegations during a hearing, the court may order a permanent injunction against the abuser. A permanent injunction lasts forever. To modify or terminate a permanent injunction either the petitioner or the respondent may petition the court to do so, but only after proving to the court that the circumstances have changed and there no longer needs to be an injunction in place to protect the petitioner.

An injunction, whether temporary or permanent, places restrictions on the abuser such as “no contact within 500 feet” of the petitioner; exclusive use of a shared dwelling; exclusion of the respondent from petitioners’ residence, place of employment, school, or other designated places frequented by petitioner, family, or household members; temporary custody of minor children to the petitioner; and temporary surrender of firearms and ammunition.