Restraining Orders

You may be eligible for a dating violence protective order if:

1. you are a victim of dating violence; and
2. one of the following is true:

• either of you are currently pregnant with the other’s child; or
• you and the abuser have had a dating relationship within the last 12 months.¹

If the abuser denies that you were in a dating relationship with him/her, the judge may look at the following factors to decide if your relationship meets the standard of a “dating relationship” according to the legal definition:

• whether there is a committed romantic relationship between you and the abuser that is beyond friendship or ordinary business, social, or educational involvement;
• any evidence that supports that you were in a dating relationship;
• interpersonal bonding between you both;
• the length of the relationship;
• the type of interactions you have had with the abuser and how often you had those interactions; and
• whether you and the abuser presented yourselves as being in a relationship to others.²

If you do not fit into either of these categories, you can check our Family Violence Protective Orders to see if you qualify for that type of order instead.

¹ Ga. Code § 19-13A-1(2)
² Ga. Code § 19-13A-4(a)(1)