Getting a divorce can cause uncomfortable interactions between you and your spouse. That behavior sometimes escalates to the point of harassment from your spouse. Fortunately, you can file for an order of protection against your spouse if they are continually harassing you. How do you know when your spouse’s behavior qualifies as harassment? You should explain your spouse’s behavior in detail to your divorce attorney, who can advise you on whether a court order could stop that behavior and what you need to do in order to receive that order.

Harassment in Divorce

Illinois defines harassment as conduct that knowingly and unnecessarily causes a reasonable person to feel distressed. Harassment in a divorce is usually verbal abuse made in person or via electronic communication. Common examples include:

• Making offensive or obscene comments to you
• Repeatedly contacting you by telephone or email for the purpose of disturbing you
• Making derogatory comments about you in a public forum such as social media

Harassment is a misdemeanor offense in Illinois, but the offender’s actions can rise to the level of a felony. For instance, your spouse could be charged with stalking if they are following you in person or electronically in order to harass you. Making a threat against you that causes you to reasonably fear for your safety could be assault.

Orders of protection exist to shield victims from their domestic abusers and help them establish independence. Escaping an abuser is not always as simple as leaving them. The victim may be worried about:

• Where they will live;
• How they can protect their children;
• How they can support themselves; and
• How they can prevent their abuser from retaliating against them.

An order of protection can solve these problems. The abuser can be required to leave the victim’s residence and stay away while the order is active. The children will stay with the victim and may have limited visits with the abuser if the court determines it to be safe. The court can require the abuser to pay child support and other expenses. However, an order of protection is effective only if it is being enforced. You must understand what your order can do and how you should respond if you suspect your abuser is violating the order.

Terms of the Order

Orders of protection in Illinois offer 17 remedies to be used against the alleged abuser, who is also called the respondent. The remedies include all of the benefits mentioned above, as well as others that may apply in specific situations. You must select the remedies you wish to use in the order. Overlooking a remedy could leave you vulnerable in ways that you are not expecting.

Illinois recently signed the Firearms Restraining Order Act into law, which allows someone to petition for the temporary removal of firearms from the possession of a family member who is deemed to be a threat to him or herself or others. With recent mass shootings in mind, lawmakers created the bill as a legal means for law enforcement to act on credible warnings of potential gun violence. Victims in domestic violence cases could petition for a firearms restraining order if they fear that their abuser may use a gun against them. However, the petitioner must prove that there is a need for the restraining order.

Order Details

Illinois already has a law that revokes a person’s Firearm Owner’s Identification card if he or she is convicted for domestic violence. However, an alleged offender may be a threat to use gun violence before a conviction can occur. An order of protection can immediately make it illegal for the domestic violence suspect to contact the alleged victim. A firearms restraining order addresses the specific threat of gun violence by:

When filing an order of protection in a domestic violence case, the petitioner may suddenly realize the various ways he or she is connected to the abuser. The victim must take steps to cut off access to properties and finances in order to shield him or herself from the abuser. However, both the accuser and accused may normally have an equal right to the shared properties. Illinois lawmakers included several remedies in the state's order of protection law that favor the petitioners’ rights to access and control various properties. A revision to the law went into effect at the start of the new year that extends those rights to cell phone accounts.

Phone Control

Under the revised law, a petitioner who has filed an order of protection may request that a wireless service provider move his or her phone number to a separate account. The law is meant as another way for domestic violence victims to be financially independent from their abusers. Domestic partners often share a wireless telephone service plan. If the abuser is the primary holder of the account, he or she has control over all phone numbers related to the account. With the new law, the petitioner

Every nine seconds a woman in the United States is assaulted or beaten. In fact, the leading cause of injury to women is not car accidents, muggings, or rape. It is domestic violence. The abuse begins at a heartbreakingly young age: one in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually assaulted by age 18. Internationally, one in three women has been beaten, coerced into sex, or somehow abused.

These are sobering statistics, and too often victims of domestic abuse do not seek help. Illinois takes the prosecution of these heinous crimes seriously. In nearby Cook County, for example, State Attorney Anita Alvarez recently announced the creation of a Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Division, which will focus exclusively on these sensitive and often complex cases.

An Order of Protection May Prevent Further Abuse