Domestic Abuse Restraining Order
If the petitioner is in an unwanted stalking relationship with the respondent, however, a closely related form of injunction, a Harassment Restraining Order (HRO) may be more appropriate.
[3] The first step is ordinarily for the woman — the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence generally refers to petitioners as female as most are women[11] — to file an initial petition with the court.
[14] The woman will also request that a full hearing — at which the abuser will be present - be held to determine whether to grant a permanent restraining order.
Service can be carried out by the Sheriff's Department of the county where the harasser lives or works, or by any adult who is not a party named in the case.
[4] The order may also be granted, or extended, up to ten years if there is a substantial risk that the respondent may commit homicide or sexual assault against the petitioner.
[6] Respondents are supposed to be held by the bailiff for 15 minutes after the hearing ends to allow petitioners to leave safely, but this rule is not always followed.
[18] Wisconsin considered requiring GPS monitoring for all persons subject to a harassment or domestic abuse restraining order.
[23] Law enforcement must make an arrest if they have probable cause to believe that the abuser has violated a HRO or DARO.
[4] Violators may be subject to global positioning system tracking based upon a risk assessment by the department of corrections.
[24] The HRO or DARO will generally be registered in the Protection Order File of the National Crime Information Center.
At the state level, a domestic abuse restraining order will automatically trigger a restriction on owning or possessing firearms.
A 2006 Wisconsin study showed that female petitioners were successful about 62 percent of the time in seeking restraining orders at the full hearing where the respondents had the chance to be present.
[34] In 2017 in Dane County, 393 petitions for a domestic abuse restraining order were filed, resulting in 186 long term injunctions being issued, for an overall petitioner success rate of about 47 percent.
The program is intended to improve success rates for petitioners as well as teach both legal skills and empathy to law students.
Secondary trauma can be a concern for students and attorneys participating in the clinic and stress reduction techniques such as meditation are taught.
[26] Another program in Milwaukee County brings together the Sojourner Family Peace Center and the Marquette University Law School to provide support for petitioners through pro bono legal representation.
A 2019 study of this program found that those with legal representation were more than twice as likely to have their restraining order approved, and were also more likely to appear in court to face their abuser.
[12] This program, known as VALT--Volunteer Attorney Legal Team--involves law students interviewing petitioners applying for a domestic abuse restraining order.
[38] However, a 2002 analysis of 32 U.S. studies found that restraining orders are violated an average of 40 per cent of the time and are perceived as being "followed by worse events" almost 21 per cent of the time, and concluded that "evidence of [restraining orders'] relative efficacy is lacking" and that they may pose some degree of risk.
[39] A large America-wide telephone survey conducted in 1998 found that, of stalking victims who obtained a restraining order, more than 68 per cent reported it being violated by their stalker.
[40] Threat management experts are often suspicious of restraining orders, believing they may escalate or enrage stalkers.
In his 1997 book The Gift Of Fear, well-known American security specialist Gavin de Becker characterized restraining orders as "homework assignments police give to women to prove they're really committed to getting away from their pursuers" and said they "clearly serve police and prosecutors" but "they do not always serve victims".
De Becker also observed that restraining orders are most effective when the emotional involvement is lowest, for example when used following a brief, unsatisfactory, dating relationship as opposed to with an ex-spouse.
If she continues to allow contact for an extended period after an initial firm rejection, any eventual restraining order may be less effective.
