To anyone working in the movement to stop violence against women, these stories are upsetting but not surprising.   Although the facts in each case is different, both are similar in that the woman was abused by her partner,  sought  protection from our legal justice system and had an order in place to offer her some protection from her abuser.  Such protection usually takes the form of a restraining order in the family courts, bail conditions prohibiting contact in the criminal courts, or a peace bond obtained from a Justice of the Peace.  

Do these restraining orders protect women? Many women would say no and yet others have felt they have been accorded some measure of protection. There is no one reason why restraining orders work for some women and fail to protect others. Success depends on the willingness of the Police to enforce the order, the actual wording of the order, and the willingness of the party being restrained to comply with the order. Due to the number of factors involved in each individual case, a woman's safety cannot be guaranteed by the existence of a restraining order although it may be in her best interests to obtain one. 

In cases involving domestic violence, restraining orders are the norm. Generally speaking, these orders are not difficult to obtain. The real difficulty stems from enforcement of the restraining order.  Often success in getting the police to enforce the order depends upon the way in which the order is phrased. 

The authority granting courts the power to grant a restraining order can be found in the Family Law Act and the Children's Law Reform Act.  Both Acts permit Judges to order that an abusive spouse/partner be restrained from: 'harassing, molesting or annoying their spouse/partner or the children in his/her lawful custody'.   Unfortunately, this language can be interpreted by Police as vague, and Police officers have been known to refuse to act when called upon by a woman in possession of a restraining order worded in this manner. 

Fortunately, lawyers are permitted to draft a restraining order that is much more specific and which may fit the particular needs of the woman being abused. For example, the order could restrain the abuser from contact at her home, at her place of employment, through the telephone, facsimile, electronic mail, from direct and indirect contact, third party contact, etc. With such a specifically worded restraining order in her possession a woman is in a much better position to have the order enforced or insist that the order be enforced by the police when it is breached. In the event that any restraining order is breached there are sanctions available in both the criminal and family courts.  However, these sanctions must be requested by the woman's lawyer or by the Crown Attorney.

In many cases a restraining order is requested and obtained at the first court appearance.  As the court case progresses certain changes may occur in the relationship between the woman and her abuser.  These may change the effectiveness of the restraining order and may in fact result in removal of the restraining order, replacing it with a mutual restraining order or consent by one or both parties not to harass the other.   Only a Judge can rescind a restraining order where the woman who obtained the order does not consent to its removal.

There is often significant pressure on a woman to remove the restraining order once it is obtained.  An abuser may have numerous reasons why he feels the order is not warranted and should be removed.  Often, his first attempt to have the order removed is to speak to his spouse/partner.  In some circumstances there has been a cooling off period since the order was granted and the parties communicate with each other and reach an agreement. Such an agreement may include: the parties agreeing to remove the restraining order, changing it to a mutual order, or the abuser signing a consent agreement not to harass his spouse/partner. In other circumstances the abuser may lull his spouse/partner into a false sense of security by apologizing, promising to change and conducting himself appropriately for a period of time.  In such circumstances, she may agree to removing the restraining order. 

In some other cases, the problems associated with access order compliance, whether supervised or not, may pressure a woman to withdraw or change the order as she may not have the assistance of a third party to take children to pick up and drop off locations for child visitations.  Women may agree to changes to restraining orders for numerous reasons, some of which may place her at increased risk.   Removal of the restraining order issued by the court and replacing it with an order consented to by both parties, significantly alters any protection accorded to the woman if the abuse continues.  Restraining orders issued by the court have a greater likelihood of being enforced by the Police.