The legal framework
Law 26.485 of 2009 on comprehensive protection to prevent, punish and eradicate violence against women (ley de protección integral) defines the forms of violence — physical, psychological, sexual, economic, symbolic and political — and the settings in which they occur (modalidades), and organises the urgent preventive measures (medidas preventivas urgentes) that any judge must order at the victim's request, without a lawyer: exclusion of the aggressor from the home (exclusión del hogar), a ban on approaching the victim (prohibición de acercamiento), the return of belongings and interim maintenance (cuota alimentaria provisional). The measures are requested from a civil, family or peace court (juzgado civil, de familia or de paz), are generally ordered within 48 hours and do not depend on any criminal complaint; in Buenos Aires the Supreme Court's Oficina de Violencia Doméstica (domestic violence office, OVD) takes statements 24 hours a day and passes them to the judge. Law 26.791 of 2012 added femicide to the Código Penal (Penal Code, article 80, paragraph 11), punished with life imprisonment. Law 27.499 (Ley Micaela) makes training on gender and violence against women compulsory for public officials, and Law 27.452 (Ley Brisa) grants financial reparation, paid by ANSES (the social security administration), to the children of femicide victims. Several provinces fit aggressors with dual electronic ankle bracelets and give victims a panic button; about 250 femicides are recorded each year, and the Línea 144 receives more than 100,000 calls.
The Ni Una Menos movement, born in Buenos Aires in June 2015, made Argentina the reference country in Latin America on violence against women: a comprehensive law, a national helpline, femicide as a crime in its own right, compulsory training for judges and police officers. British and Irish residents will recognise the tools — a 24-hour helpline like the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, orders that exclude the abuser from the home and ban contact like non-molestation and occupation orders in England and Wales or safety and barring orders in Ireland — and, in Law 26.485, a definition that, like the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 in England and Wales, includes economic abuse. The Argentine procedure is fast and simple: the protection measures are asked for directly from a judge, without a lawyer and without a criminal complaint, and obtained within 48 hours in most cases. Since 2024, however, the dissolution of the Ministry of Women and cuts to national programmes have left more of the support to the provinces.
A British or Irish woman — resident, visitor or Anglo-Argentine — who suffers violence in Argentina has access to all of this without any condition of nationality: the Línea 144, the police, the courts and the free lawyers of the Cuerpo de Abogadas y Abogados para Víctimas de Violencia de Género, with her passport as identification. The British Embassy in Buenos Aires can provide consular support — lists of English-speaking lawyers and interpreters, contact with the family and with UK support services, emergency travel documents — but cannot intervene in the proceedings; Irish citizens turn to the Embassy of Ireland in Buenos Aires. A woman whose residence (radicación) rests on her relationship with an Argentine should raise the question with her lawyer or with the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones (the national immigration office), but her safety comes first. The real trap concerns the children: a child cannot leave Argentina with one parent alone without the other's authorisation or a court's, and Argentina, the UK and Ireland are all bound by the 1980 Hague Convention on child abduction — a mother who takes the children home without that authorisation would normally see them ordered back.
Key points
| Telephone | Línea 144 (24 hours, nationwide, also on WhatsApp 11 2771 6463); 911 in an emergency; 137 in the City of Buenos Aires (mobile team, Brigada Móvil) |
|---|---|
| Protection measures | Before a civil, family or peace court, without a lawyer: exclusion from the home, ban on approaching, return of belongings, maintenance; generally ordered within 48 hours |
| Complaint | Comisarías de la mujer (police stations for women), the Supreme Court's Oficina de Violencia Doméstica (Buenos Aires, 24 hours), prosecutors' offices (fiscalías), courts |
| Femicide | Life imprisonment (article 80, paragraph 11, of the Código Penal, since Law 26.791 of 2012) |
| Devices | Dual electronic ankle bracelets for aggressors in several provinces; panic button |
| Figures | About 250 femicides a year; more than 100,000 calls to the Línea 144 |
| British and Irish women | Same rights, with no nationality condition; consular support from the British Embassy or the Embassy of Ireland; 1980 Hague Convention for children; Argentine orders not automatically recognised in the UK or Ireland |
In practice
- In danger: 911; the police can intervene and bring the aggressor before the courts.
- Call the Línea 144 for guidance and referral to the services of each province, without having to report; if your Spanish is limited, a friend can call with you.
- Ask for the protection measures directly at the court (in Buenos Aires, the Supreme Court's Oficina de Violencia Doméstica, Lavalle 1250, takes statements 24 hours a day and passes them to the judge): exclusion from the home and the ban on approaching are ordered within days, and a passport is enough as identification.
- The criminal complaint is independent of the civil measures; free legal representation is available from the defensorías (public defenders' offices) and the Cuerpo de Abogadas y Abogados para Víctimas de Violencia de Género (lawyers for victims of gender violence).
- Do not leave Argentina with the children without the other parent's authorisation or a court order: ask the judge for interim arrangements for the children as part of the protection measures, then for permission to move abroad. The British Embassy can help with emergency travel documents and with contact with UK refuges (Refuge, Women's Aid); Irish citizens contact the Embassy of Ireland.
Cost and coverage
The Línea 144, protection measures, legal representation and support are free; the Acompañar programme gives six months' financial aid to victims at risk (scaled back since 2024), and the children of femicide victims are entitled to the Ley Brisa reparation from ANSES. Consular support is free, but an emergency travel document is charged.
Recent changes
Javier Milei's government dissolved the Ministry of Women in 2024 and cut programmes (Acompañar; the Línea 144 kept with fewer staff); the laws remain in force, and several provinces have strengthened their own services.
Where to go
- Línea 144 (24 hours) and 911; 137 in the City of Buenos Aires.
- Oficina de Violencia Doméstica of the Supreme Court (Lavalle 1250, Buenos Aires, 24 hours) and provincial offices; comisarías de la mujer y la familia in each province.
- Cuerpo de Abogadas y Abogados para Víctimas de Violencia de Género and the defensorías: free legal representation.
- British Embassy in Buenos Aires: consular support, lists of lawyers and interpreters; Irish citizens: Embassy of Ireland in Buenos Aires; in the UK, the National Domestic Abuse Helpline 0808 2000 247; in Ireland, Women's Aid.
Worth knowing
Protection measures can be requested without a lawyer and without a criminal complaint, before any judge: it is the fastest way to get the aggressor out of the home. Keep the order and always carry it with you; the police enforce it. And do not leave the country with the children without the other parent's agreement or a judge's decision: under the 1980 Hague Convention, a court in the UK or Ireland would normally order their return, even in a case of violence.
Frequently asked questions
I am British and my Argentine partner is violent — what should I do first?
In immediate danger, call 911. Otherwise the Línea 144 (24 hours, also on WhatsApp) refers you to the service in your province; in Buenos Aires the Supreme Court's Oficina de Violencia Doméstica receives you at any hour and passes your statement to the judge, who orders the aggressor's exclusion from the home and a ban on approaching within days, without a lawyer. Your nationality does not matter. The British Embassy can give you lists of English-speaking lawyers and interpreters and put you in touch with UK services, but cannot intervene in the case.
Can I go back to the UK with my children?
Alone, yes, at any time. With the children, only with the other parent's written authorisation or a decision of the Argentine judge allowing the move: a child cannot leave Argentina with one parent alone without it, and the UK and Ireland, like Argentina, are bound by the 1980 Hague Convention, so a court there would normally order the children's return. The Argentine judge can authorise a move to the UK where the violence is established; the protection measures and the criminal complaint are the first pieces of evidence. In England and Wales, the International Child Abduction and Contact Unit (ICACU) advises parents on the Convention.
Is an Argentine protection order valid in the UK or Ireland?
Not directly: there is no automatic recognition between Argentina and the UK or Ireland. A victim who settles in England or Wales applies to the Family Court for a non-molestation order (Family Law Act 1996), producing the Argentine order, police reports and medical certificates, translated, as evidence; it is usually granted quickly, without notice if there is a risk. In Ireland the equivalents are safety and barring orders from the District Court. Conversely, a UK or Irish order serves in Argentina as evidence for a measure under Law 26.485, which the judge orders within 48 hours.
Official sources and links
- Law 26.485 — comprehensive protection of women — official text
- Línea 144 — Ministry of Justice — official information
- Oficina de Violencia Doméstica — Supreme Court — statements taken 24 hours a day
- GOV.UK — support for British nationals: victims of crime abroad — consular support
- argentina.gob.ar — official portal of the Argentine state: procedures, civil registry, migration, health, justice
- Normativa nacional (InfoLeg) — official texts of Argentine laws and decrees
- British Embassy Buenos Aires — gov.uk — consular help, notarial and documentary services for British nationals in Argentina