Fees for restraining order in domestic violence waived
A total of 131 cases related to child abuse were reported in November.
By
Fathmath Ahmed Shareef
While seeking a protection order in cases of domestic violence, it has been decided that the public will no longer have to pay the fee that is charged for it.
When a victim of domestic violence applies for a protection order, the Family Court previously charged a fee of MVR 25.
Since last Thursday, the Family Court has decided not to charge the fee. Prosecutor General Hussain Shameem's blog on the occasion of the Judicial System's New Year has included some details.
As per Shameem's blog:
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One of the goals of the Prosecutor's Office's work this year is to strengthen the delivery of justice to victims of crime
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Establish a world-class victim support system in collaboration with all agencies to address barriers to accessing services for victims
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A consultation meeting was held with government agencies and private associations last year on how to carry out this
The issue of a fee of MVR 25 to be paid to the Family Court for a domestic violence protection order was raised at the meeting, Shameem said.
" The fee is also payable through the Bandeyri portal, which requires internet and other resources. Considering the lamentable situation of the person applying for a domestic violence order, all the agencies felt it necessary to change the MVR 25 to non-payment is," Shameem wrote on his blog.
Shameem wrote that when he spoke to the Family Court about it, the MVR 25 issue came to the attention of the court and the judges had already decided to cut the fee. The changes are:
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The court on Thursday released a form for a domestic violence protection order. There was no mention of the fee
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The form, which used to be 14 pages, has now been simplified and reduced to 6 pages
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The practice of rejection of the application if there is no documentation to be submitted along with the form has now been changed to make it mandatory to accept the form even if all the documents are not available.
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The current change is to bring to the notice of the court if it is not possible to produce the document along with the said form
Shameem wrote that the Family Court took an important step to establish a victim-friendly system as envisaged in the law. That’s because the person seeking domestic violence protection, given the circumstances they will be in at the time, sometimes may not have all the documents in their possession, Shameem wrote.
To make it easier for the victim, the application form for a protection from domestic violence order will soon be filled out through the Prosecutor's Office's online portal, he said. Since the service can be accessed through eFaas, most of the sections of the form will be filled in automatically, he said. He said the applicant would have to fill only a few parts themselves.
“Once the victim reaches a safe place, fills out the online form and sends it through the Prosecutor's Office's online portal. We will send the form to the email address of the court the victim requests for. From that point on, the victim would not have to take the form and walk to the courts. The process of asking for orders has been made so much easier,” Shameem wrote.
"Even if one victim attains some relief from our efforts, and does attain legal protection then I believe we have been rewarded for it”.
According to the latest statistics released by the Gender Ministry, 47 cases of gender-based violence and domestic violence were reported to the ministry in November alone last year.
Physical abuse was the most commonly reported of such cases:
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25 cases of physical assault
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17 cases of mental or verbal abuse
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4 cases of sexual assault
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2 cases of intimidation
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2 cases of sexual harassment
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1 case of rape
A total of 131 cases related to child abuse were reported in November, with the highest number of cases of this type being reported was exposing a child to domestic violence. As many as 16 such cases were registered.
