I Am Feeling Unsafe…

The Family Team at Neilsons understands that getting yourself out of an unsafe situation at home takes a lot of courage and can be hard to do. We are here to help you through, and help you decide what is the best course of action for you.

Top Tips:

• If you need to leave your home and don’t have any family or friends close by to help, Women’s Refuge offer living support, and WINZ financial support. They ensure you are not alone.

• If you are in immediate danger, call the Police on 111. There are a range of things they can do, including but not limited to:

  • Issuing a Safety Order which requires someone to stay away from the home for a few days.

  • Helping you issue a Trespass Order.

• If you continue to be in an unsafe situation and fear you are at risk of being subject to further violence, a protection order may be what you need.

What is a Protection Order?

A Protection Order can be granted urgently by a Family Court Judge, usually within 24 hours. This is designed to keep you safe. If the order is made, the respondent will not be able to contact you in any way, unless you consent to it. If this is breached, they can be arrested. Police take these breaches very seriously.

Whether this is right for you depends, but you can apply for an order only if:

• You are or have been in a family relationship with someone.

  • This usually means your partner or ex, a family member, someone you usually live with or have a close personal relationship with

• Family Violence has been inflicted against you or your children by this person

  • This can include physical violence, sexual violence, and psychological violence.

  • Psychological abuse can include gaslighting, belittling comments, controlling your money, name-calling, threats of physical abuse, preventing you from seeing family and friends and many other things.

• Making an Order is necessary for the protection of you or your children. Things to consider here are:

  • If you have young children and will be in each other’s lives for a long time to come

  • If violence has continued after separation

  • If there has been a serious level of violence and you fear this will continue.

Even if the violence has been a one off, make sure you talk to our team, as the law says one single act may amount to abuse. Further, a court is required to look at incidents that may appear minor in isolation such as sending you flowers, sending a mean text, showing up to places uninvited or a one-off humiliation in front of your friends. These incidents together can form a pattern of behaviour that is considered abuse.

This urgent process can be done without having to initially appear in court.

If you are in an unsafe situation and need some guidance, the team is here to help.