What protection measures can you obtain?

You can file a request (which is exempted from the state fee in the court) for the provision of protection against domestic violence acts. The judge shall issue a protection order within 24 hours from the receipt of the request and can apply against the perpetrator the following 10 measures:

• obligation to temporarily leave the common house or to stay away from the victim’s house, without deciding on the ownership of the goods;
• obligation to stay away from the victims’ location;
• obligation not to contact the victim, the victim’s children and other dependants;
• prohibition to visit the victim’s workplace or home;
• obligation to contribute to the maintenance of their common children until the case resolution;
• obligation to pay the expenses and damages caused by his violent actions, including medical expenses and those for the replacement or repair of destroyed or damaged goods;
• limitation of the unilateral use of common property;
• obligation to participate in a special treatment or counselling program if such an action is determined by the court as being necessary in order to reduce violence or stop it;
• establishment of a temporary visiting schedule of his minor children;
• prohibition of keeping and carrying a gun.

At the same time, these protection measures do not prevent you from initiating the divorce proceeding, the division of property, termination of parental rights, taking the child without termination of parental rights and other actions provided for by the law in force.

These protection measures can be applied for up to 3 months.

Another way of getting help is to file immediately a complaint with the police, which should be registered with a special number, by indicating the date when the complaint was filed.

If you need medical treatment following the acts of violence or you miss the work for the same reason, as well as in the case when the perpetrator destroyed your belongings, during the criminal prosecution or during the court trial, you have the right to initiate a civil case for the repair of material and moral damage caused by the acts of violence to your health, property and dignity. The civil case can be initiated separately after the termination of the criminal trial.

Child rights

In cases of domestic violence, if you have children – they will suffer at least psychologically and even physically from the abuse. So you are responsible for protecting them and ensuring a happy, violence-free childhood!

Children have a number of rights and we will mention only a small part of them. The Family Code specifically provides for the fact that the child is entitled to protection against corporal punishment by parents or guardians.

If the legitimate rights and interests of the child are violated, including by failure or improper fulfilment of the obligations concerning their maintenance, education and training by the parents (one of them) or in the case of abuse of parental rights, children can approach the guardianship authority on their own to defend their legitimate rights and interests, and from the age of 14 – they can go to court.

Right to childcare

This is a complicated area and for a successful settlement, you should seek legal advice from a lawyer who will represent you in proceedings.

The judge shall decide with whom the child will continue to live based on several factors:

• Emotional conditions, living and material conditions
• The degree of psychological harm to the child caused by the abuser, etc.
• Violence background
• Child’s safety and best interests of the child.