Carly* was referred to National Legal Service by a support agency. A mum of four, Carly had been in a relationship with her former partner for seven years and had been subjected to domestic abuse throughout.
Over time, the level of violence escalated. In one instance, Carly’s former partner pushed her into a door whilst shouting. This occurred in front of one of the children and resulted in a head injury. In a second incident, the respondent dragged one of the children out of their bed. Yet another occasion saw him shouting at Carly for not wearing a head scarf, and calling a friend she was with awful names. The respondent informed Carly that if her friend had been a man, he would have killed her.
This wasn’t the only time the respondent threatened Carly’s life. After Carly reported her former partner to police for removing one child while hiding the other three, he again made death threats to her. This resulted in the police being called again. As a result of his behaviour, the police imposed strict bail conditions which prohibited the respondent from contacting Carly either directly or indirectly. However, this wasn’t sufficient to stop the intimidation and verbal abuse as the respondent then proceeded to send threatening messages via a family member.
With his bail conditions breached, Carly needed greater legal protection; we helped Carly to apply for public funding to cover the cost of legal support and made an application for a Non Molestation Order (NMO) to the court on her behalf. The cost of the order was also covered by the funding Carly received, alleviating the financial burden this would have represented as someone on a low income.
The NMO order was granted by the courts and made final. With the order served on the respondent, it was clear to him that he was no longer able to harass, intimidate or abuse Carly or endanger their children. Breaching a NMO is a serious offence which can result in arrest or a prison sentence of up to five years.
With the order in place, Carly now feels that she has legal protection from her former partner. This order has allowed Carly to resume her life and feel safe within her home, as well as giving peace of mind that her four children are also safe from harm. Happily, Carly reports that she has been able to move on with her life and no longer feels that she must live in fear of what her former partner may do or say.
