Guide To Domestic Violence And Concurrent Criminal Proceedings

In family proceedings, you may be faced with the difficulty of dealing with divorce or children matters, as well as the requirement to protect yourself against an ex-partner or ex-spouse.

The Family Court is unfortunately no stranger to victims and perpetrators of domestic violence, and there are remedies in both the Family and Criminal Courts.

When there is the added layer of domestic violence, you may find yourself in the midst of pursuing a criminal prosecution through the Police if you are a victim of domestic violence.

Domestic violence can present in many ways, such as physical, financial, emotional or psychological abuse. You may have suffered harassment, threats, or perhaps coercive and controlling behaviour. Such offences may be prosecuted via the Criminal Courts.

You may therefore wonder how ongoing criminal proceedings could impact your family case, such as any children or divorce proceedings.

If you have reported an offence to the Police, you may find that your ex-partner may be on bail until they are charged. There may be conditions imposed on bail, but often these are time-limited. Even after your ex-partner may be charged with the offence, bail conditions can still be limited as a form of protection. As a result, you may find yourself still having to deal with your ex-partner potentially attending your home or being local to your property, or they may still be able to contact you. Therefore, you should speak to a family solicitor to discuss the possibility of applying for a non-molestation order, and to see if this is suitable for your case. Non-molestation orders are made by the Family Court and can add further protection for between six months to a year if granted, in addition to existing bail conditions.

You may also be concerned about proof of an ex-partner’s behaviour in your family proceedings. If there is an ongoing criminal trial, or the trial has concluded with a guilty verdict, the evidence and disclosure from the criminal proceedings can be shared with the Family Court. Equally, there can be times that, if the criminal proceedings have not yet commenced however your family proceedings have started, the Family Court can grant disclosure of evidence of the offences to assist the prosecution in criminal proceedings. The Family and Criminal Courts can sometimes therefore work together to prove the acts of domestic violence.

Lastly, you can request special measures to assist you when going to court for any family proceedings, such as separate waiting rooms and screens when giving evidence.