If you're experiencing domestic abuse, the law can put real protection between you and the person harming you — sometimes within a day. Connaught Law's domestic abuse solicitors act with urgency, discretion and care: protective orders, safe exits from shared homes, and the family and immigration issues abuse so often entangles.
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How We Can Help
Non-Molestation Orders
What many people search for as a "restraining order" is, in family law, a non-molestation order: a court order forbidding an abuser from threatening, harassing, contacting or coming near you and your children — with breach a criminal offence carrying arrest. Abuse here means more than violence: controlling and coercive behaviour, intimidation and harassment all qualify. Our guide to non-molestation and occupation orders explains both in depth.
Occupation Orders
An occupation order deals with the home: who may live there, who must leave, and who may not come within a defined distance — regardless, in many cases, of whose name is on the deeds or tenancy. It's the order that lets you and the children stay safely in the house, or re-enter it, while the longer-term picture is resolved.
Emergency Protection
Where the risk is immediate, applications can be made urgently and without notice — the court can grant an order the same day, before the abuser knows an application exists, with the full hearing following once you're protected. If you're in immediate danger call 999 first; then call us, and we'll move at the speed the situation demands. The official support routes and refuge services work alongside the legal protections, not instead of them.
Legal Aid & Funding
Domestic abuse is one of the areas where legal aid survives: with evidence of abuse — police, medical, refuge or other recognised forms — and subject to means, funding may cover protective orders and related family proceedings. Our guide to legal aid for domestic abuse explains the evidence gateway, and we'll tell you honestly at the first call which funding routes fit your case.
Children & Finances After Abuse
Abuse changes how the rest of family law runs: child arrangements can be shaped around safety — supervised contact, protective conditions — with allegations tested properly at fact-finding where disputed, and financial proceedings conducted so you're not negotiating under intimidation. Our children team and divorce team run these cases with the protective orders in place first.
If Your Visa Depends on Your Abuser
Fear of losing immigration status keeps many victims trapped — and the law answers it directly: partners on spouse and partner visas who experience domestic abuse can apply for status in their own right, independent of the abuser. Our guide to domestic abuse and immigration rights covers the route, and our immigration team runs these applications alongside the protective work — one firm, both problems.
How We Work
The first conversation is confidential, unhurried and practical: what's happening, what protection fits, what funding exists, and — where it's safe to plan — the sequence for orders, housing, children and money. Where urgency demands it we apply the same day. Where you're not ready to act, we'll tell you what evidence to keep and how to reach us safely when you are.
We act for victims of all genders, and we also defend those facing orders based on false or exaggerated allegations — carefully, because both injustices are real.
Why Connaught Law
01Speed when it mattersSame-day, without-notice applications when the risk is now — protection first, process after.
02The whole entanglementOrders, children, money, housing and visa status — abuse cases cross specialisms, and so do we.
03Senior attention throughoutYour case is handled by our experienced family team directly — one person you trust, reachable.
04Care as standardDiscretion, safe contact methods and no pressure to move faster than you're ready to.
Funding options — including legal aid where you qualify — are discussed at the first call; our fees page sets out the structures.
Frequently Asked Questions
How quickly can I get a protection order?
In urgent cases, the same day — courts grant without-notice non-molestation orders where the risk justifies it, effective from the moment the abuser is served. The full hearing follows later, with your protection already in place. If you're in immediate danger, call 999 first.
Will my abuser know I'm applying?
Not necessarily before you're protected: without-notice applications are decided before the other person is told, precisely because warning them can create danger. They learn of the order when it's served — already in force — and can respond at the later hearing, where we represent you throughout.
Can I get legal aid for a domestic abuse case?
Often, yes — legal aid remains available for domestic abuse cases, subject to means and to evidence of abuse from a recognised source such as police, health professionals or support services. We'll assess your eligibility honestly at the first call, and explain the alternatives if you fall outside it.
My visa depends on my partner — what happens if I leave?
You may not have to choose between safety and status: partners on spouse or partner visas who experience domestic abuse can apply for leave — and settlement — in their own right, independent of the relationship. Don't let this fear keep you in danger; the route exists, and we run it alongside your protection.
Need protection — or a safe plan to leave?
Talk to us in complete confidence. We'll tell you what protection the court can give, how fast, and how it's funded — and we'll move the moment you're ready.
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