IF YOU ARE A VICTIM OF VIOLENCE, ABUSE OR HARASSMENT AND BELIEVE YOU ARE IN IMMEDIATE DANGER CALL 9-1-1.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, please contact your local domestic violence resource center or call the statewide helpline at 866-834-HELP. If you are Deaf or hard of hearing, please call 800-437-1220.

If you are a victim of sexual assault, please contact your local sexual assault support center or call the statewide helpline at 800-871-7741.

A Protection from Abuse Order is a civil court order that prohibits or restricts one person’s ability to contact another. An order may include things such as how and when the defendant is allowed to have contact with the plaintiff, if you have children together it may provide who makes decisions about the children, where do they live and a temporary parenting plan. It can also include child support. The order can be in effect for up to 2 years.

A Protection from Abuse Order does not take the place of a divorce or parental rights and responsibilities order. You will likely need to file a separate case in family court before the Protection from Abuse Order expires to ensure an order is in place for when the PFA expires.

Regardless of your age, you can file a PFA against:

• your family or household member or your current or former dating partner who has abused you;

• anyone who has stalked you, sexually assaulted you, who has used or threatened to use intimate private images of you against you, or has forced you or led you into sex trafficking;

If you are 60 or older, or a dependent or incapacitated adult, you can file a PFA against any extended family member or unpaid care provider who has abused you.

If you are a minor, your parent or other person responsible for you can get a PFA on your behalf against anyone who has • sexually exploited you; • shared or intends to share sexually explicit images of you when you were younger than 16; or • harassed you by telephone or by electronic devices.

There are all kinds of actions that can make someone afraid or want to stop having contact with another. However, abuse has a specific meaning under the law for a Protection from Abuse Order. The actions of the other party must meet one of these to qualify as abuse.

• Causing, or attempting to cause or causing physical injury or offensive contact, including sexual assault;

• Placing, or attempting to place, another person in fear of bodily injury through threatening, harassing or tormenting behavior;

• Compelling a person by force, threat of force or intimidation to do something or not do something that the person has a right or privilege to do or not do;

• Knowingly and substantially restricting the movements of another person, including removing the person from their home, school, business, or work, without that person’s consent;

• Communicating to a person a threat to commit, or to cause to be committed, a crime of violence dangerous to human life;

• Repeatedly, and without reasonable cause, following a person or being at or in the vicinity of a person's home, school, business, or work;

• Stalking;

• Engaging in sexual assault;

• Knowingly, and with the intent to harass, torment or threaten, disseminating (sharing) a private, sexually explicit image of the plaintiff or another person without consent;

• Engaging in sex trafficking or aggravated sex trafficking;

• Sexually exploiting a minor;

• Disseminating (sharing) or possessing, with an intent to share, sexually explicit images of a minor younger than 16;

• Harassing a minor by telephone or by electronic devices; or

• Economic Abuse, or the intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly depriving a person of essential needs, if the person is an incapacitated adult, dependent adult, or individual 60 years of age or older.

The Maine state court has created a guide to assist with filing for protection from abuse. This guide explains how to file for a temporary and final court order for protection from abuse. It also goes over Protection from Harassment. The forms to file for protection from abuse can be found on the court’s website.

Domestic violence advocates may be able to assist you with navigating the court system and filing for Protection from Abuse in addition to assisting with safety plans, and providing information. Please contact your local domestic violence resource center for more information on their services available to survivors.