Know the Laws: Tennessee
UPDATED September 11, 2008
A Protection Order is a civil order that provides protection from harm or the threat of harm by a family or household member.
Basic Information
back to topWhat is a protection order?
A protection order is a paper which is signed by a judge and tells someone who is hurting you or scaring you to stop or face serious legal consequences. It offers civil legal protection for victims of :
- domestic abuse,
- sexual assault, and
- stalking.
Both men and women victims may be eligible for a protection order.
back to topWhat is the legal definition of domestic abuse?
This section defines domestic abuse for the purposes of getting a protection order.
In terms of getting a protection order, domestic abuse is when a household or family member does any of these things to you:
- physically hurts you,
- tries to physically hurt you,
- threatens you with serious physical harm,
- confines your movement or imprisons you in any way (like locking you in a room), or
- destroys or damages your property on purpose and maliciously.
- attempt to inflict, physical injury on any animal owned, possessed, leased, kept, or held by you.
To read the exact wording of the law, please see the definitions section on the TN Legal Statutes page.
back to topWhat is the legal definition of sexual assault?
In terms of getting a protection order, sexual assault is when anyone:
- rapes you,
- threatens to rape you,
- makes you afraid they will rape you,
- has sexual contact with you without your consent
- threatens to have sexual contact with you without your consent, or
- makes you afraid s/he will have sexual contact with you without your consent.
Rape is when anyone:
- forces you to have sex without your consent,
- has sex with you if you're 13-18 years old and they're 4 or more years older than you, or
- has sex with you when you're under 13.
To read the exact wording of the law, please see the definitions section on the TN Legal Statutes page.
back to topWhat is the legal definition of stalking?
Stalking is when someone repeatedly harasses you. You have to be harassed more than once for it to count as stalking.
Harassment is when someone contacts you without your consent, in a way that distresses you. It includes things like:
- following you without you saying it’s okay,
- coming up to you when you ask them not to,
- constantly calling you,
- keeping on showing up at someone’s house or job (whether or not they come inside),
- sending you threatening emails, and
- dropping things off on your property that distress you.
- terrorized,
- frightened,
- intimidated,
- threatened,
- harassed, or
- molested.
Your fear has to be “reasonable” – that a reasonable person in your position would be scared or terrorized, too.
For the purposes of getting a protection order, you're considered a victim of stalking if anyone has:
- stalked you,
- threatened to stalk you, or
- made you scared that they're going to stalk you.
To read the exact wording of the law, please see the definitions section on the TN Legal Statutes page.
back to topHow can a protection order help me?
A protection order may:
- order the perpetrator not to call you, contact or otherwise communicate with you, directly or indirectly;
- order the perpetrator not to stalk you;
- award you custody of your children;
- require the perpetrator to pay spousal and/or child support;
- award you sole possession of your residence (in other words, force the perpetrator to move out & let you stay there) or force the perpetrator to provide alternative housing for you;
- require the perpetrator to pay for the costs of the court proceedings;
- require the perpetrator to attend counseling programs that address violent behavior or substance abuse problems;
- forbid the perpetrator from possessing, owning or buying firearms;
- award the custody, care and control of your animal;
- order the perpetrator to do anything else you ask for and the judge agrees to.*
Whether or not a judge grants all or any of the measures above depends on the facts of your case.
*Tenn Code Ann. § 36-3-606
back to topIn which county can I file for a protection order?
If the abuser lives in TN, you have to file the petition in the county where the abuser lives, or in the county in which the abuse took place. If the abuser does not live in TN, you can file the petition in the county where you live.*
* Tenn. Code Ann. § 36-3-602(c)