DOMESTIC VIOLENCE RESOURCES
It is the responsibility of all healthcare professionals to stay informed about resources such as shelters, mental health services, and programs for victims of domestic violence in their region.
Domestic Violence Services in Florida
Effective May 2020 the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) assumed the role formerly held by the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence (FCADV) to administer all domestic violence services in Florida.
Florida’s 41 certified domestic violence centers provide crisis intervention and support services to adult victims of domestic violence and their children free of charge, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Services include emergency shelter, 24-hour crisis and information hotline, safety planning, counseling, case management, child assessments, information and referrals, education for community awareness, and training for law enforcement and other professionals. Many centers also provide legal and court advocacy, transportation, relocation assistance, economic empowerment classes, transitional housing, daycare, outreach services, rape crisis intervention, and prevention programs in local schools (FL DCF, 2020).
Most communities also have Child Protective Services and Adult Protective Services agencies to which known or suspected cases of abuse should be reported.
Florida law has established batterer’s intervention programs for perpetrators of domestic violence. The court usually imposes attendance at a batterer’s intervention program as a condition of probation.
Obtaining an Injunction
A protective order or injunction for protection is a document that is signed by a judge and informs the abuser to stop the abuse or face serious legal consequences. A protective order can be issued to both male and female victims of domestic violence.
There are two types of civil protective orders in Florida:
- Temporary (ex parte) injunctions designed to provide immediate protection
- Final injunction, which may set a period of time or may not have an expiration date
Aside from an injunction for protection against domestic violence, there are three other types of injunctions available in Florida:
- Injunction against repeat violence (which includes stalking)
- Injunction against dating violence
- Injunction against sexual violence
In Florida, injunctions for protection are issued under the civil law system. When a victim asks the court for protection from the abuser, the victim is not asking the court to arrest that person for committing a crime, but if the abuser violates the civil court order of protection, they may then be sent to jail. In a civil case, the victim also has the right to drop the case.
The criminal law system handles all cases that involve crimes such as assault, harassment, theft, etc. A criminal complaint involves the abuser being charged with a crime. In a criminal case, the district attorney is the one who can decide to drop the case, and the victim does not have any control over whether or not the case continues. In 2015, SB 342 (no contact orders) became law. The law allows no contact orders to be enforced as part of a pretrial release of the defendant (Florida Senate, 2017).
CONCLUSION
Domestic violence in any form deprives those who are affected of their basic human rights. Children, who are the future of our society, are witnesses of this abuse and suffer irreparable damage from the exposure. Healthcare professionals can make a critical difference in ending this costly, destructive epidemic and interrupt the transmission of violence from generation to generation. By being alert to the possibility of domestic abuse in the life of every patient, healthcare professionals can identify, protect, and assist victims in resolving their situations.
To accomplish this goal, healthcare professionals must be informed and present for their patients. They need to collaborate with advocacy groups, community agencies, and law enforcement in order to be effective change agents.