What a Non-Molestation Order Does
A non-molestation order is a court order that prohibits a person from using or threatening violence against you, from intimidating, harassing, or pestering you, and from contacting you by any means -- including by telephone, text, email, or social media. Breach of a non-molestation order is a criminal offence. The police can arrest without a warrant. The person in breach can be imprisoned.
The order can be applied for without the other person knowing -- what is called a without-notice or ex parte application. The court can grant a without-notice order on the same day you apply if the situation is sufficiently urgent. You do not need a solicitor to apply.
Who Can Apply
The complete step-by-step guide: Getting Safe -- Protective Orders for Women.
You can apply for a non-molestation order if the person you need protection from is an associated person -- a current or former partner, a family member, someone you live or have lived with, or someone you have or have had an intimate relationship with. The definition of associated person under the Family Law Act 1996 is broad and covers most domestic situations.
The Without-Notice Application
If you are at immediate risk of harm, you can apply without notice -- meaning the respondent is not told about the application until after the order is made. To apply without notice, you need to explain to the court why giving notice would not be appropriate -- typically because doing so would risk further violence, would allow the respondent time to take action against you, or because the situation is so urgent that there is no time.
The application is made using Form FL401. This form asks you to set out the order you are seeking and the grounds for it. Attached to the FL401 must be a witness statement setting out the history of abuse, harassment, or threats. The witness statement is the most important document in the application.
Writing Your Witness Statement
Your witness statement should be chronological, specific, and factual. Start with the relationship and when it began. Then set out the history of abusive or harassing conduct, giving specific dates, specific incidents, and specific words used where possible. Include evidence -- photographs of injuries, screenshots of messages, records of police call-outs, GP records, school reports that mention welfare concerns. Conclude by explaining why you need the order now and why without-notice is appropriate.
The statement does not need to be long but it must be specific. A statement that says "he has been violent and abusive throughout our relationship" is far weaker than one that gives five or six specific incidents with dates and details. Specificity is credibility.
Filing and the Hearing
Take the completed FL401 and your witness statement to your local Family Court. There is no court fee for a without-notice non-molestation order application. The court will list a hearing, usually on the same day or the next working day for without-notice applications. You will see the judge alone -- the respondent is not present. The judge will read your statement and may ask you questions. If the order is granted, it takes effect immediately.
A return hearing will then be listed -- usually within two weeks -- at which the respondent is given notice and can attend to contest the order. At that hearing, the judge decides whether to continue the order, vary it, or discharge it.
If the Order Is Breached
Call 999 immediately. Keep a copy of the order with you at all times and give copies to trusted people who may need to act on your behalf. The police can arrest without a warrant. Keep records of every breach -- date, time, what happened -- as these will be relevant both to any criminal prosecution and to any application to vary or extend the order.