Protective orders protect victims by prohibiting the abusive partner from committing acts of violence, threatening, harassing, or stalking family members. Violation of a PO results in criminal penalties such as fines, imprisonment or both.
Victims seek temporary or permanent protective orders.
Permanent orders require both victim and offender to appear in court, and typically last 12 months. Limitations in traditional legal procedures for criminally prosecuting abusive partners gave rise to the creation and use of protective orders. In the nearly 25 years since protective orders have been available as a legal remedy for domestic violence, only five studies have examined their effectiveness in preventing re-abuse. Even though these studies found that in most cases abusive partners refrained from violating protective orders, evidence indicated that factors other than the protective order itself may have influenced perpetrators to stop abusing their partners. Short duration of time between receipt of a PO and inquiries about re-abuse may also have inflated protective orders' apparent effectiveness in some studies.