It can be incredibly difficult to come forward if your partner or ex-partner is physically or emotionally abusing you. You may be fearful for yourself or others in your household if your abuser finds out you tried to seek help. However, there are discrete ways you can successfully remove yourself and others in your household from the reach of your abuser.
The first thing you should do if you are the victim of domestic violence is get to a safe place and call the National Domestic Violence Hotline.
Seek Out an Attorney
The next thing you should do is contact a domestic violence attorney to talk you through important next steps. An experienced attorney will know exactly what needs to be done to immediately deal with the issue, as well as what you can do long-term to protect yourself and your loved ones. For example, your attorney may advise you to seek a protective order as a means to ensuring your safety before your case goes to court.
A protective order will:
- Prevent your abuser from contacting you.
- Prevent your abuser from threatening or harassing you.
- Prevent your abuser from going near your job or home.
- Prevent your abuser from living in a shared residence with you.
- Enable you to have temporary sole custody of your children.
Take Your Abuser to Court
If someone is abusing you, you need to take the correct lawful steps for regaining safety. Your domestic violence attorney will be with you through-out the whole process so you don’t have to do it alone.
The steps required include:
- Written criminal complaint submitted by law enforcement
- Charges against your abuser, which will be sent to the prosecutor
- Arrest of the abuser
- Court appearance to list the charges and set bail
- Private proceeding before the Texas grand jury
- Trial, unless a plea bargain is reached
- Sentencing
Contact The Springer Law Firm Today
Our attorneys at The Springer Law Firm are incredibly compassionate and have decades of experience with domestic violence cases. Your safety is our number-one priority. We will do everything in our power to ensure your immediate and on-going safety.
Contact us online or call us at (281) 990-6025 for a legal consultation.