If your ex partner is abusive and lives in Greater Manchester, Gwent, Bromley, Croydon or Sutton we can help you obtain a new Domestic Abuse Protection Order.

The government is trialling the roll out of a new protective order known as a Domestic Abuse Protection Order (or DAPO) in certain areas of England and Wales. This pilot scheme comes into force in November 2024 after being announced in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. These orders are far better protection in relation to domestic abuse than anything currently in existence. If you do qualify for one of these orders you should certainly consider obtaining one rather than a non-molestation order or a restraining order.

The new orders can be applied for by the police, by the victim or by third parties and can include both prohibitive orders and positive orders which means that the perpetrator can be forced to attend a mental health assessment or domestic abuse perpetrators assessment. The perpetrator can be excluded from going near your home, work or gym and can be subject to a curfew which would be monitored by a tag. The perpetrator can also be forced to handover his or her devices to the police with the pin numbers and passcodes.

Breach of an order is a criminal offence punishable by up to 5 years imprisonment.

Head of Family and Director Rachel Horman-Brown said: –

Rachel Horman-Brown

Head of Family Law and Director

“The new DAPOs are far better than the old orders that they replace and offer far better protection for victims. The orders can be tailored to protect against the specific form of abuse victims are being subjected to and are innovative in containing positive requirements which forces the perpetrator to change their behaviour rather than it being they victim who is expected to. Legal aid is available to victims for these orders. I just hope that the courts use these positive requirements which can be monitored by way of a tag and don’t just make orders in the same genetic terms in which they used to. This is what makes these orders different and something we argued was essential to better protect victims and inconvenience the perpetrator rather than the victim. 

Equally I hope that the police will also make applications on behalf of victims in addition to bringing charges as these orders are not an either/or situation in terms of criminal charges. Victims have been failed by both the criminal and family courts for too long and I hope that this, in addition to the new Cafcass domestic abuse policy will be the start of a sea change for victims”