Update on Domestic Abuse Protection Orders (DAPO’S) ‘Sitting on the Fence!’

I wrote about DAPO’s way back in December 2023, and I have been doing a lot of work on the subject recently and going to a lot of meetings about the same. So I thought I would give a bit of an update and share my personal thoughts on the initiative. For anyone that doesn’t know, which may be many of you, this is what a DAPO is.

A Domestic Abuse Protection Order (DAPO) is a legal measure designed to protect victims and survivors of domestic abuse by imposing restrictions on the abuser. It aims to prevent further abuse and ensure the safety of the victim/survivor.

The key features of a DAPO typically include:

1. No Contact Orders – The abuser may be prohibited from contacting or approaching the victim/survivor, whether in person, by phone, text, email, or through social media.
2. Exclusion Orders – The abuser may be barred from entering the victim/survivor’s home or other specified locations, such as the victim/survivor’s workplace or children’s school.
3. Positive Requirements – The order may impose conditions like being tagged, or attending behaviour change programmes, drug and alcohol programmes and mental health support services.

A DAPO can be issued by a civil or criminal court after an incident of domestic abuse and may apply whether or not criminal charges have been filed. The aim is to provide immediate protection and help prevent future abuse.

There are some key benefits to a DAPO over a Non-Molestation Order.

To be eligible for a Non-Molestation Order, you have to be or have been in an intimate relationship with the abuser. The length of time that has elapsed between the incident of abuse and the application for an NMO should not be longer than a couple of weeks on average. With a DAPO, the merits and criteria to be eligible, are easier to meet. For example, it doesn’t matter how long ago the incident of abuse happened and it can be against someone that the victim/survivor may have only seen for a couple of dates.

Once a DAPO has been ordered there is a stringent process by an independent organisation, that is undertaken to see if the abuser is suitable for a positive requirement and to make sure it is safe enough in the first place to impose a positive requirement. That report goes back to the judge on the return court hearing, for the judge to approve and add to the DAPO. If the abuser ignores the court process and the DAPO has not been finalised, the court may be limited in its ability to enforce the positive requirement until the abuser formally engages with the process.

However, if the court has already issued the DAPO and included a positive requirement as part of the order, failure to comply with the order can lead to legal consequences. Non-compliance might result in the abuser being summoned back to court, facing penalties, or even criminal charges, depending on the jurisdiction and the severity of the breach.

It is a very complex thing, and to be honest, it has taken me ages to get my head around it and I still get confused! At the moment there is a pilot in three London borough’s, three places in Greater Manchester and soon to start the pilot are North Wales and Cleveland. The pilots are limited to the police forces in these areas and therefore only victims and survivors whose abusers reside in these areas can ask for a DAPO.

But how will they know what it is? or what it means? When someone from one of those areas are referred to my day job (NCDV), we routinely ask, if they are eligible, if they want to apply for a DAPO and it is explained to them what one is and how it can help them. Despite the Home Office and the Ministry of Justice wanting this new order to completely take over from Non-Molestation Orders, it should always be the victims/survivors choice, which order they want. But I am concerned that many places will not explain in enough detail for the victim/survivor to make an educated decision.

Don’t get me wrong. This order has the potential to be a really good thing for victims and survivors of domestic abuse and violence. There are lots of teething problems, but that is what a pilot is for! and my organisation, NCDV, will actively engage with the process and try to make it work. BUT, people don’t like change. Word on the street is that so far the civil courts are not ordering many DAPO’s and are preferring to stick with what they know – Non-Molestation Orders. So we will have to see.

If any of you have applied for and got a DAPO as a protective order, please let me know your thoughts on how the process worked for you? You can comment on this blog here or you can contact me privately if you would prefer. I am curious to know how this will all play out. Until then, I think I will stay sitting on the fence!!