The essentials
- Recognising it: domestic abuse includes physical violence, but also insults and humiliation, control of money, outings and the phone, threats and sexual coercion; it often follows a cycle of tension, explosion and reconciliation.
- Emergency: in immediate danger, call the police; most countries also have a free helpline open around the clock, often with text or chat options.
- Evidence: have injuries recorded by a doctor, keep messages and witness accounts, note dates; a medical certificate does not oblige you to report.
- Protection: a protective order (removal of the violent partner, no-contact order, occupation of the home) can be obtained within days from a civil court, without waiting for a criminal trial.
- Reporting: a complaint is made at a police station or to the prosecutor; it can come after you are safe, and it is not required to obtain protection.
- Help: specialist organisations, emergency accommodation, legal aid, support for the children; leaving with the children is possible if the court is informed quickly.
- Where to go: the national helpline, a victim support organisation, a doctor, a lawyer or the family court.
Two routes that run separately
The protective route aims at distance: removal from the home, non-contact and non-molestation orders, occupation of the property. It is civil or administrative, it is fast, and it does not depend on a prosecution. The criminal route aims at punishment and takes far longer. The two can run in parallel, and the first is almost always the more urgent.
The definition has widened
Modern statutes cover not only physical violence but psychological, sexual and economic abuse, and stalking. Economic control — taking over accounts, forbidding work, running up debt in a partner's name — is increasingly named explicitly, because it is what blocks the exit. Digital control, tracking and monitoring are now covered in a growing number of systems, including where the device is shared.
Evidence that actually counts
A dated medical record is the single strongest item, even if you have not decided whether to report. Beyond that: dated photographs of injuries and damage, a chronological log of incidents, saved messages, and the names of people who saw or heard something. Keep the log outside the household and off any shared device or account.
Separation is the most dangerous period
The risk of serious harm rises in the weeks after a separation. That is why most systems pair protection with safety planning: somewhere safe to go, a bag prepared with documents and medication, an agreed code word with people you trust, and handovers of children arranged at a neutral place rather than at the door.
An order only works if breaches are reported
Orders do not keep anyone away — enforcement does. Report every breach immediately, including an apparently harmless phone call, and make sure it is logged. It is the documented pattern of breaches, not the order itself, that produces effective action later.
The law country by country
The legal framework, the procedure, the time limits and the costs differ from one country to another. Each country below has a detailed page: governing texts, key facts, the actual procedure, costs, where to go and the traps to avoid.
Select a country to open its detailed page.
