Types of Injunctions

Domestic Violence

Domestic violence includes: assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, or any other criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death to petitioner by any of petitioner’s family or household members. 

The domestic violence laws only apply to your situation if the Respondent is your spouse, former spouse, related to you by blood or marriage, living with you now or has lived with you in the past (if you are or were living as a family), or the other parent of your children whether or not you have ever been married or ever lived together. With the exception of persons who have a child in common, the family or household members must be currently residing together or have in the past resided together in the same single dwelling unit.  

Repeat Violence

Repeat violence means that two incidents of violence have been committed against you or a member of your immediate family by another person, one of which must have been within 6 months of filing this petition. 

Repeat violence includes assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, or false imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death. 

The parent or legal guardian of any minor child who is living at home may seek an injunction for protection against repeat violence on behalf of the minor child. With respect to a minor child who is living at home, the parent or legal guardian must have been an eyewitness to or have direct physical evidence or affidavits from eye-witnesses of the specific facts and circumstances that form the basis of the petition.  

Dating Violence

Dating violence means violence between individuals who have or have had a continuing and significant relationship of a romantic or intimate nature. The dating relationship must have existed within the past six months, the nature of the relationship must have been characterized by the expectation of affection or sexual involvement between the parties, and the frequency and type of interaction must have included that the persons have been involved over time and on a continuous basis during the course of the relationship. 

Dating violence does not include violence in a casual acquaintanceship or violence between individuals who only have engaged in ordinary fraternization in a business or social context.  

Dating violence includes assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, or false imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death. 

The parent or legal guardian of any minor child who is living at home may seek an injunction for protection against dating violence on behalf of the minor child. With respect to a minor child who is living at home, if the party against whom the protective injunction is sought is also a parent, stepparent, or legal guardian, you, as the parent or legal guardian filing the petition, must have been an eye-witness to, or have direct physical evidence or affidavits from eye-witnesses of the specific facts and circumstances that form the basis of your petition. If the party against whom the protective injunction is sought is a person other than a parent, stepparent, or legal guardian of the minor child, you, as the parent or legal guardian filing the petition, must state why you have reasonable cause to believe that the minor child is a victim of dating violence.   

Sexual Violence

If you are a victim of sexual violence or the parent or legal guardian of a minor child who is living at home and is a victim of sexual violence, you can ask the Court for a protective order prohibiting sexual violence.
  

• Sexual battery, as defined in Chapter 794, Florida Statutes
• A lewd or lascivious act, as defined in Chapter 800, Florida Statutes, committed upon or in the presence of a person younger than 16 years of age
• Luring or enticing a child, as described in Chapter 787, Florida Statutes
• Sexual performance by a child, as described in Chapter 827, Florida Statutes
• Any other forcible felony wherein a sexual act is committed or attempted

In order to get an injunction, you must have reported the sexual violence to a law enforcement agency and be cooperating in the criminal proceeding if there is one. It does not matter whether criminal charges based on the sexual violence have been filed, reduced, or dismissed by the state attorney’s office. 

You may also seek an injunction for protection against sexual violence if the Respondent was sent to prison for committing one of the sexual violence crimes listed above against you or your minor child living at home and Respondent is now out of prison or is getting out of prison within 90 days of your petition. Attach the notice of inmate release to your petition. 

If you are seeking an injunction for protection against sexual violence on behalf of a minor child who is living at home, the parent or legal guardian must have been an eyewitness to, or have direct physical evidence or affidavits from eyewitnesses of the specific facts and circumstances that form the basis of the petition. If you are under the age of eighteen and have never been married or had the disabilities of nonage removed by a Court, one of your parents or your legal guardian must sign this petition on your behalf.   

Stalking

Stalking means repeated following, harassment, or cyberstalking of one person by another. Cyberstalk means to engage in a course of conduct to communicate, or to cause to be communicated, words, images, or language by or through the use of electronic mail or electronic communication, directed at a specific person, causing substantial emotional distress to that person and serving no legitimate purpose.

The parent or legal guardian of any minor child who is living at home may seek an injunction for protection against stalking on behalf of the minor child.