Make all restraining orders permanent petition

[Rockhopperpenguin]

Hi all, here is a petition I found online that I think would effect many of us here if anyone would like to sign! I have spoken to admin who were concerned about anonymity and so I emailed the house of commons petitions committee who confirmed to me that the only person who is shown on this petition is the person who made it and that if you sign no one else will see you did! If admin are still concerned I have emailed someone from admin a copy of the email confirming that “No information about petition signatories is published, or shared with anyone outside of the team that oversees the petitions site.”

Here is the petition creators post
“Dear reader,
In a time when domestic abuse is rising rapidly I feel this is worth considering.
I am posting in the hopes you will sign and share my petition. My petition is to make all protective orders permanent,
Too often the onus falls on a victim to keep themselves safe. First they have to get themselves a protective order which can mean telling their stories of abuse multiple times all to be scrutinized and judged. Ans then if they are granted an order it is generally only for 12 months, after which they have to start the process off applying to court all over again either for a new order, or to extend the order, a request that is often not granted. These orders are put in place to protect victims, but the way the system works right now means reliving their abuse yearly or living in fear as they have no order. You don’t stop being a victim or being scared after one year, so the idea that someone stops being an abuser after a year is also absurd and does nothing to encourage abusers to seek help and rehabilitation for their abusive behaviors.
I believe if my petition is successful it would mean less funding needed for legal aid as each person would only even need to go to court the once, victims may feel more protected and therefore are more likely to leave their abusers, victims can move on with their lives, and abusers will be more likely to seek help for their behaviors if they want to be able to evidence to a court that they are no longer a threat and therefore have the orders removed.
There are so many people getting their applications to extend their orders denied on the basis of their abuser has only breached it a couple of times, or not too severely and this just seems absurd to me. The system for gaining a protective order seems more intent on protecting the perpetrators!
Thank you for taking the time to read my proposal and I really hope you will at least sign the petition. Every signature helps.
(detail removed by moderator)
Kind Regards”

[Anonymous]

Thank u for this. I’ve signed it. I was too scared to apply for one and thought of him reading my statement made me feel sick and scared so I didn’t do it but I didn’t even realise it had to be renewed so often. I felt scared and intimidated by the process just once.

[Author]

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