Restraining Orders

This section defines abuse for the purposes of getting an abuse prevention order. “Abuse” is defined as any of the following acts between family or household members:

• attempting to cause you physical harm;
• causing you physical harm;
• placing you in fear of immediate serious physical harm; 
• causing you to have sexual relations against your will (involuntarily) due to force, threat, or duress; or
• coercive control, which is defined as either of the following:

1. a single action intended to threaten, intimidate, harass, isolate, control, coerce, or force you to do something, which makes you fearful of being physically harmed, makes you feel physically unsafe, or reduces your autonomy. The action can be any of the following:
   • harming or attempting to harm your child or relative; 
   • abusing or attempting to abuse an animal connected to you; or
   • publishing or attempting to publish sexually explicit images of you; or
2. a pattern of behavior intended to threaten, intimidate, harass, isolate, control, coerce, or force you to do something, which makes you fearful of being physically harmed, makes you feel physically unsafe, or reduces your autonomy. Examples of the behaviors include, but are not limited to:
   • isolating you from friends, relatives, or other sources of support;
   • depriving you of basic needs;
   • controlling, regulating, or monitoring your activities, communications, movements, finances, economic resources, or access to services through technology or other means;
   • forcing (compelling) you to do something, including engaging in criminal activity, or forcing you not to do something that you want to do;
   • threatening to harm your child or relative;
   • threatening to commit cruelty or abuse to an animal connected to you;
   • intentionally damaging your property;
   • threatening to publish sensitive personal information about you, including sexually explicit images; or
   • filing repeated court actions against you that a judge determined to be not supported by the law or in bad faith.¹

Note: If you don’t qualify for an abuse prevention order, you may qualify for a harassment prevention order. For more information, see our Harassment Prevention Orders section.

¹ M.G.L.A 209A § 1