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What if There is Violence or Abuse in the Family?

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In the United States, physical violence, threats of violence, sexual assault, and child abuse are illegal. Abuse is described as follows: (See California Family Code, Section 6203) Opens new window

  1. Intentionally or recklessly to cause or attempt to cause bodily injury.
  2. Sexual assault.
  3. To place a person in reasonable apprehension of imminent serious bodily injury to that person or to another.
  4. To engage in any behavior that has been or could be enjoined pursuant to (California Family Code, Section 6320). Opens new window

For abuse to be called "domestic violence":

It has to have happened between people who are "intimately involved" such as:
(California Family Code, Section 6211) Opens new window

  1. A spouse or former spouse.
  2. A cohabitant or former cohabitant, as defined in (California Family Code, Section 6209). Opens new window
  3. A person with whom the respondent is having or has had a dating or engagement relationship.
  4. A person with whom the respondent has had a child, where the presumption applies that the male parent is the father of the child of the female parent under the Uniform Parentage Act (Part 3 (commencing with Section 7600) of Division 12).
  5. A child of a party or a child who is the subject of an action under the Uniform Parentage Act, where the presumption applies that the male parent is the father of the child to be protected.
  6. Any other person related by consanguinity or affinity within the second degree.

Protective orders:

Often, a court will issue a protective order (called a restraining order) to make sure that one parent cannot hurt the other or threaten to hurt the other. If a court issues an order to protect one parent from domestic violence, it means that the other parent cannot hit, kick, scare, throw things, pull hair, push, follow, harass, sexually assault, or threaten to do any of these things.  It also includes other actions that make someone afraid of being hurt.  Domestic violence can be spoken, written, or physical.

While definitions of domestic violence vary from state to state and country to country, federal law says that is illegal to injure – or threaten to injure – anyone related, or with whom a person is living and having an intimate relationship. This is true regardless of a person’s cultural or religious heritage, citizenship status, or personal beliefs about discipline or the proper relationship between husbands and wives – or children.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Acts or threats of domestic violence, emotional abuse, child abuse, child sexual abuse, or child neglect will all be considered very seriously when decisions are being made about child custody and visitation. It is important that violent or abusive behavior is reported to the court. (See California Family Code, Section 3011) Opens new window

 

IF YOU NEED PROTECTION RIGHT NOW, you should call 911,

  • or a local law enforcement agency, or
  • a domestic violence shelter, or
  • the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-799-SAFE.


If you want more information about domestic violence issues you can visit our Domestic Violence section on this website, click here. Opens new window


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