Learn about Abuse

UPDATED May 21, 2013

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Here at WomensLaw.org, in addition to making sure that our existing information is up-to-date, we add new information to our website to give you another reason to keep coming back.  If you have a suggestion for something you would like to see added to our site, or to let us know about a page that needs to be updated, email us at WLmail@WomensLaw.org.

What's new in May 2013?

• We revised our Refugee Status page in English and Spanish.
• Please check out our newly re-written Asylum section, in Spanish and English. 
• We updated our T-Visa section in English and Spanish, correcting links and information.
• Check out our updated Trafficking, Sexual Assault or Stalking Protective Orders section in Texas (in English and Spanish).  We added a question to clarify the definition of stalking and made some other changes.

What's new in April 2013?

• We revamped our Domestic Violence page (in English and Spanish), which is located in our Learn About Abuse tab.
• We updated our U Visa and VAWA sections in English and Spanish.  
• We added more information to out Preparing Your Case page, including a new question about how a pro se litigant can best present his/her case for custody when it is being decided as part of a protection order hearing.  (All changes are also in Spanish.)
• A Florida law that was passed in October 2012 allowed for the creation of civil injunctions based on stalking.  WomensLaw has now created an entirely new section with detailed information about Injunctions for Protection Against Stalking/Cyberstalking.
• We edited, updated and "spruced up" our Safety Tips for Stalking Victims page in English and Spanish.  If you are being stalked, you can find tips for ways to stay safe at home, at school, at work, etc.
• We finally completed translating the Illinois Restraining Orders page that we re-wrote in English back in August 2012 into Spanish!  Check it out here: Órdenes de Protección.

What's new in March 2013?

• Check out our newly edited Financial Abuse page, where we added new pieces of information throughout - both in English and Spanish. 
• We added a question to our NY Divorce page in English and Spanish about getting spousal support before, during, and after a divorce.

What's new in February 2013?

• Based on changes to Arizona's laws that took effect 1/1/13, WomensLaw completely revised the information that we had on our Arizona Custody page in both Spanish and English.  We also added some new questions, including Can a parent who abuses drugs or alcohol get legal decision-making?, Can a parent who is a registered sex offender or who murdered the other parent get legal decision-making or parenting time?, information on relocating out of state, as well as information on non-relatives' ability to apply for visitation here.

What's new in January 2013?

• We translated our newly-revised NY Custody page into Spanish.  Check it out here: Custodia.

NEWS UPDATE for New York residents: In October 2012, NY state created the Order of Protection Notification System, which allows you to be notified by e-mail, text, iPhone/iPad app, telephone, fax or web query, when law enforcement serves your family court order of protection upon the abuser.  For more information or to register, visit NY-Alert or the Sheriff's Institute.  In November 2012, NY created an Address Confidentiality Program ("ACP"), which helps a victim who registers with the program to keep his/her address confidential when filing court petitions.  All mail is sent to the ACP and the ACP will send it to your actual (confidential) address.  To register, click here.

What's new in November 2012?

• Changes to KS law in 2012 allow for a protection from abuse order or a protection from stalking order to be extended for anywhere from 2 years to the lifetime of the abuser if certain conditions are met.  Read about it on our updated KS question entitled How do I change or extend my order?
• We revised the information we have on custody in CO, which is known as allocation of parental responsibilites.  You can read it here.
• Based on 2012 changes to MS law, we changed the information on our MS page under What can I do if the abuesr violates the order? 
• Check out our recently revised Financial Abuse page in English and now in Spanish.

What's new in October 2012?

• We improved our NJ question about the definition of domestic violence for the purpose of getting a restraining order.  You can read it here.
• Check out the new legal resources we added for survivors who need to appeal an order involving custody, protection orders, etc. on the Appeals section of our National Organizations page.
• We added new information about the protections that are provided in Virginia in an emergency protective order and a preliminary protective order.
• In Virginia, we also added information about what happens if an abuser violates a protective order for an act of violence, force or threat and a protective order for family abuse.
• Based on 2012 changes to states' laws, we added a question about what happensto a parent's custody or visitation rights when s/he is deployed by the military in Indiana.
• We added information about grandparent visitation rights in Connecticut and in Georgia.
• Check out our newly revised Custody section in NY!
• Based on changes to MD's laws, effective 10/1/12, we updated specific questions in our Peace Orders section and in our Domestic Violence Protective Orders section.

What's new in September 2012?

• In Nevada, we added the Spanish translation of our recently revised Orders for Protection Against Domestic Violence page.  Check it out here.
• We expanded our Orders of Protection due to Stalking section in Missouri in response to a hotline inquiry we received on our Email Hotline.  If you want more information than we have on our website, please write to us and ask - we are listening!

What's new in August 2012?

• We revised all of the information on our Hawaii Restraining Orders pages, including our Orders for Protection due to Domestic Abuse (Family Court) section and our Injunctions Against Harassment (District Court) section.
• We revised all of the information on our Illinois Orders of Protection pages in English. 

What's new in July 2012?

• With the help of the AZ Coalition Against DV, we revised the information on all of our AZ Restraining Orders pages (in Spanish and English).  Thanks Merri and Shannon from the AZCADV!
• Based on changes to Nebraska law that became effective July 19, 2012, we revised the information our NE Domestic Violence Protection Orders pages.
• We completed the English translation of another section of our Puerto Rico pages.  Check out Orders of Protection for the Welfare and Protection of Children in English!

What's new in May 2012?

• We added a new section to our Illinois Orders of Protection page called The protections offered in each kind of order, which discusses the benefits of each type of order of protection, information on getting an order against a school-mate, and much more.
• Check out our new Workplace Restraining Orders section on our Rhode Island page.
• We revised our Alaska Stalking and Sexual Assault Protective Orders section.
• Our Refugee Status information is now in Spanish.

What's new in April 2012?

• We completely overhauled Domestic Violence Protection Orders and Harassment Protection Orders in Nebraska.
• The new information about CA's housing law that protects victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking that we added to WomensLaw.org in March 2012 is now in Spanish!
• We completely overhauled the information on our Maryland Custody section.  Over the next month, we will continue to revise the rest of the state so keep checking back!
• In MI, we added a new section on Non-Domestic Sexual Assault Personal Protection Orders and we revised our Non-Domestic Stalking Personal Protection Orders page. 
• Check out our newly revised Stalking/Cyberstalking page in English and Spanish under our Learn About Abuse tab. 
• We revised the information on our VA Protective Orders for an Act of Violence, Threat, or Force page.
• Check out our updated information about Alaska's victim compensation for victims of certain violent crimes.  To read more, go to Victim Compensation.
• We revamped our Alaska pages on stalking protective orders and sexual assault protective orders, combining them into one section to more closely reflect the statutes (laws).  The new section is called Stalking and Sexual Assault Protection Orders.

What's new in March 2012?

• In Nevada, we have added the Spanish translation of Orders of Protection Against Harassment in the Workplace.
• Our NC Child Support information is now in Spanish!
• We added a new section to our Vermont page called Sexual Assault or Stalking Protective Orders.  These are available to someone who was sexually assaulted or stalked by someone who is not a family or household member.
• Read about a CA law that allows victims of stalking, sexual assault or domestic violence to terminate their rental lease early without penalty on our new CA Housing Laws section.

What's new in the Winter of 2011/2012?

• We added a whole new section about Child Support in North Carolina (currently only in English - soon to be in Spanish!)
• Check out our revised VAWA (Violence Against Women Act) immigration section! We have detailed information on self-petitions, battered spouse waivers and cancelation of removal in English and Spanish.  We also completely revised our information on U Visas, currently in English.
• Sexual Harassment in the Workplace is now available in Spanish.
• We finished translating all of our NY resources into Spanish (Finding a Lawyer pages and State and Local Programs).  If you see one that we missed, please email us to let us know.
• After receiving an Email Hotline request for this information, we added a question about whether common-law marriages and same-sex marriages can qualify someone for a VAWA self-petition.  Check it out here.
• Texas law changed as of September 2011 to allow victims of stalking, human trafficking and forced prostitution to get a protective order that used to only be available to victims of sexual assault and other sexual crimes.  See Sexual Assault or Stalking Protective Orders to read more about it.
• We finished translating our U visa information into Spanish!   You can find it here.
• Maine law in 2011 added a new type of protection from abuse order for adults who are over 60, dependent, or incapacitated and who are being abused by an extended family member or an unpaid caregiver.  To read more, go to Protection from Abuse Orders (for the elderly/dependent/incapacitated).

What's new in the Fall of 2011? 

• Our Asylum pages are now in Spanish! Check it out here: Asilo.
• We added a new question to our Military pages to reflect the repeal of the federal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy.  Read more about it here: Can victims in homosexual relationships receive help?
• Our PA Custody section called Relocating with your child after a custody order is in place is now in Spanish.
• We expanded our Sexual Harassment in the Workplace pages to include more information about the two types of sexual harassment.
• Our custody, divorce and part of our restraining order information for Puerto Rico has been translated into English.
• Based on a suggestion from a WomensLaw.org user, we added a page on Emotional Abuse.  Please keep the suggestions coming!
• Puerto Rico Protection from Stalking Orders information is now in English (was previously only in Spanish).

What's new in the Summer of 2011?

• We added information about abuse in the transgender community to our Same-Sex Abuse page. 

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