Domestic Violence Protection Orders for Teen Dating Violence: An Analysis of State Laws and Practices

Abstract

Purpose:

The purpose of this research is to provide an overview of state laws on domestic violence protection orders (DVPO) for teen dating violence. DVPOs are one legal remedy that is available to victims of intimate partner violence to reduce the potential risk of future violence. However, minors are often prohibited from filing a DVPO on their own due to statutory requirements.

Method:

Using multiple resources and a Westlaw search, we developed a list of state laws pertaining to the statutory requirements for DVPOs for partner-abused minors. We detailed the content of each state’s laws and specific requirements, including self-petitioning, eligible age, dating relationship, and stalking. Additionally, we explored how statutes were interpreted by judicial and non-judicial branches of the governments and nonprofit victim service organizations, and searched other statutory provisions for states where the state statute on the DVPO eligibility for teen dating violence was unclear.

Findings:

Our findings indicate that state statutes vary in terms of whether minors can be granted DVPOs, whether they can self-petition without a guardian, whether a non-sexual romantic relationship is covered, and whether stalking is covered. Additionally, a variety of courts’ practices and governmental opinions pertaining to protection remedies for child abuse, sexual violence, harassment, or stalking and other statutory provisions other than DVPOs was found.

Discussion:

This research discusses the importance of more inclusive statutory revisions in each state, and the need to secure greater information accessibility to eligibility requirements, instructions, and procedures for obtaining a DVPO for minors.