If you, or anyone you know, is suffering from domestic abuse there are lots of resources that can provide help. We have included the details of some organisations in this article: Where to find domestic abuse help
If there is an immediate risk of domestic abuse, you should call the police on 999.
There is more information on the legal definition of domestic abuse in this article: What is the legal definition of domestic abuse?
If the court schedules a hearing where oral evidence (evidence spoken out loud in court) may be given, further court forms may have to be filled out by the parties so the court can decide if questioning in person should be prevented. These forms in our easy-to-use format are included in our packages. The court will tell you if you need to complete one of these forms when it sends you the court order that schedules your hearing.
Questioning of witnesses or parties in court is called cross-examination.
If the court does tell you to complete one of these forms, it is very important that you do that, so the court can then decide what arrangements should be made at the hearing. The court will use the forms to decide whether questions asked in court without protections would be likely to either:
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diminish the quality of that evidence; or
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cause significant distress to the witness or party.
If the court decides an abuser must not question a victim, the court will also stop the victim from having to question the abuser.
If the court agrees that questioning in person should not be allowed by someone who does not have their own lawyer, the court may appoint a lawyer to carry out the questioning instead. This lawyer will only deal with the questioning and will not represent anyone in the case.
These lawyers are part of a scheme to deal with these situations, and there is no charge for their involvement. However, the scheme is overstretched, which can cause delays.
