788 Spousal assault
Whether you have or have not involved the police, if your spouse or a partner has assaulted you, there are additional ways to use the law to protect yourself. You can try to obtain a peace bond, or a court order preventing a spouse or partner from living in the family home.
Obtaining a peace bond
The first way to protect yourself is by obtaining a peace bond. A peace bond is a court order in which your spouse or partner agrees to keep the peace, and be on good behavior for up to 12 months. To obtain a peace bond, you need to go to court and meet with a Justice of the Peace to explain the details of your situation. You must show that you have reasonable grounds to be afraid that your spouse or partner will injure you, your child or your property. The Justice will then decide whether to order your spouse or partner to come to court and sign a peace bond. When issuing a peace bond, the Justice can also attach a number of conditions, such as ordering your spouse or partner to stay away from you. The only way for a peace bond to help you is if you follow up on it, and actually call the police if your spouse or partner breaks any of the conditions. If your spouse refuses to sign a peace bond, or if they violate a condition of the peace bond, they could be fined or sent to prison. Because a peace bond expires after one year, you must reapply if you feel it is still needed.
Exclusive possession of family home
Secondly, you can try to protect yourself by obtaining an order for exclusive possession of the family home. This means that you can ask the court to order your spouse to live somewhere else and stay away from the home, even if your spouse is the legal owner of the home.
For more information on how to protect yourself from an abusive spouse, contact a women's shelter, a domestic hotline, or a family law lawyer.