Protection from Abuse

Need help?

If you are in danger, call: 911

You can also contact the Domestic Violence Hotline. They can help people find resources for emergency housing, medical care, and support and advocacy for you and your children. Call toll-free: 800-897-5465, or visit the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition website.

Contact Legal Aid Society of Salt Lake to see if you qualify for free representation.

Contact Utah Legal Services to see if you qualify for free legal representation.

Call 800-662-4545
Monday through Friday
9:00 am - 2:00 pm

or

Contact Timpanogos Legal Center for help with preparing your documents.

Call their Hotline 801-649-8895
Monday through Friday
9:00 am – 2:00 pm
After hours leave a message

These web pages provide information about protective orders and stalking injunctions:

See the Finding Legal Help web page for information about free and low cost ways to get the help of an attorney.

Looking for details on the Safe at Home Program? Visit our explanation page.

The law can protect you from abuse or stalking

A protective order or stalking injunction can protect against domestic violence, intimate partner violence, or stalking. Both are orders from a court.  

The person asking for the order is called the petitioner. They can be protected, along with others like their children.

The person the order is requested against is called the respondent.

If the court finds the respondent threatened, tried to harm, or stalked the petitioner, the order can:

  • prevent the respondent from contacting or communicating with people 
  • stop the respondent from threatening violence
  • make the respondent stay away from the petitioner's home, work, school, or place of worship
  • not allow the respondent to have guns or weapons

A protective order can also temporarily give the petitioner custody of any shared children.

If the respondent violates a protective order or stalking injunction, they can be arrested and charged with a crime.

What kind of protective order?

There are different kinds. Answer the questions below to understand which one might be right for you. 

What is your relationship to the person you need protection from?

What is a cohabitant? You are if, regarding the person you need protection from, you:

  • are or were married,
  • live or used to live together
  • are or were in a consensual sexual relationship
  • are related as a parent, step-parent, child, step-child, grandchild, grandparent, sibling, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew or
  • have or had children together, or are expecting a child

If you are facing abuse, including:

  • Physical harm (such as hitting, kicking, pushing, pulling hair, using a weapon or other physical attacks)
  • Threats of violence or physical harm (such as breaking things or throwing things to intimidate), or
  • Domestic violence, as defined Utah Code 77-36-1 including sexual violence

Then you can ask for a Cohabitant Protective Order. Our general page on Protective Orders tells you how to ask for one. You must be 16 or older.

If you are under 18, you cannot ask for a protective order against your parent or your minor sibling. Read about Child Protective Orders for another option.

What is a dating relationship? 

  • A social relationship of a romantic or intimate nature, or a relationship which has romance or intimacy as a goal by one or both parties, regardless of whether the relationship involves sexual intimacy.

If you were in a consensual sexual relationship, you would be considered to be cohabitants –see above.

A dating relationship does not mean casual fraternization in a business, educational, or social context.

If you are facing dating violence or abuse, which can include:

  • Physical harm (such as hitting, kicking, pushing, pulling hair, using a weapon or other physical attacks)
  • Threats of violence or physical harm (such as breaking things or throwing things to intimidate)

Then you can ask for a Dating Violence Protective Order. Our general page on Protective Orders tells you how to ask for one. You must be 18 or older or be emancipated. 

Sexual assault can include:

  • Rape
  • Object rape
  • Sodomy
  • Forcible sodomy
  • Forcible sexual abuse
  • Aggravated sexual assault
  • Custodial sexual relations
  • Custodial sexual misconduct
  • Indecent liberties
  • Sexual exploitation of a vulnerable adult or a child
  • Distribution of an intimate image
  • Sexual extortion
  • Human trafficking for forced sexual exploitation
  • Aggravated human trafficking for forced sexual exploitation

You can ask for a Sexual Violence Protective Order. Our general page on Protective Orders tells you how to ask for one. 

See our Civil Stalking Injunctions page for information and forms.

If you are afraid that a minor has been or is being:

  • physically abused
  • sexually abused 
  • subject to a sexual offense. Utah Code 76-5b-201 and 76-5b-204 can help you understahd what qualifies as a sexual offense. 
  • subject to human trafficking. Utah Code 76-5-308.5 defines human trafficking. 

Then you can file for a Child Protective Order. 

A vulnerable adult includes a person who is 65 years old or older, or a dependent adult who has a mental or physical impairment which affects their ability to:

  • provide personal protection
  • provide necessities such as food, shelter, clothing, or mental or other health care
  • obtain services necessary for health, safety, or welfare
  • carry out the activities of daily living
  • manage the adult's own financial resources
  • comprehend the nature and consequences of remaining in a situation of abuse, neglect, or exploitation

If you are worried that a vulnerable adult is facing:

  • physical or sexual abuse
  • emotional or verbal abuse
  • caretaker neglect
  • self-neglect
  • exploitation

Then you can file a report online with Adult Protective Services or call 1-800-371-7897 to make a report.

If you are an employer and someone came to your business causing workplace violence, including:

  • hurting an employee or threatening to
  • causing significant damage to the business' property or threatening to

Then you can file for a Workplace Violence Protective Order.

Make a safety plan

A safety plan is a personalized plan to stay safe if you are:

  • in an abusive relationship
  • preparing to leave an abusive relationship
  • leaving an abusive relationship
  • have left an abusive relationship.

See the Utah Domestic Violence Coalition's Safety Planning web page for more information.

 

Respond to a protective order or stalking injunction

If you are the respondent and you have been served with a protective order or stalking injunction, read the order carefully. Be sure to follow the order. If you do not follow the order, you can be arrested and charged with a Class A Misdemeanor.

For information about responding to a protective order or stalking injunction, see the web page that matches your order:

Make sure that the court has your correct contact information. The court needs your contact information to send you notices about the case. See the Notifying the Court of Address, Contact Information, or Name Changes web page for information and forms.
 

Expunge a protective order or stalking injunction

Visit our page on expunging a protective order or stalking injunction for more details.

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