DOMESTIC VIOLENCE ATTORNEY
IN NEWTON, KANSAS

More than 22,000 incidents of domestic violence were reported in Kansas in 2019, and half of those resulted in arrests. That means that thousands of men and women were accused of committing violence against a member of their family or household. It also means that thousands of men and women were frightened by the physical, sexual, or emotional abuse used by someone else in an attempt to assert control over them.

If you are a victim of domestic violence, you may be blaming yourself. You are neither responsible for someone else’s abuse nor should you continue to endure it. Removing yourself from an abusive situation is not easy — emotionally, physically, or financially, especially if you have children. Those who can find the courage to stand up to their abuser can seek legal protection while they transition to a life free of domestic violence.

At Cornerstone Law, LLC, I help victims of domestic violence find safe harbor from harm. I use my experience to make a difference in the lives of clients in Newton, Wichita, Hutchinson, El Dorado, McPherson, and Hillsboro, Kansas.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IN KANSAS

Kansa law protects family and household members from domestic violence and abuse. Domestic violence and abuse can be physical, emotional, or sexual. It includes slapping, shoving, punching, beating, kicking, threats of harm, sleep or affection deprivation, sexual assault, harassment, insults, and any other verbal abuse that causes emotional harm.

TAKE ACTION

If you are the victim of domestic abuse, you should immediately take the following actions: 

• Call the police or sheriff.

• Get to safety by going to a law enforcement office, hotel, or the home of a family member or friend.

• If you are injured, seek medical help.

• Do not let the abuser know where you are.

• Hire an experienced attorney to represent you and who can help you obtain protective orders from the court.

• Communicate with your employer if you need to advise them of work absence related to domestic violence or of any restraining orders.

• File for a Protection From Abuse (PFA) order to protect yourself from the person who has abused or threatened to abuse you. To be eligible for such an order, you must live with previously lived with the abuser or share a child with the abuser. The abuser must have physically harmed you, attempted to do so, threatened to physically harm you, or the abuser must have had sexual contact with a minor under age 16 who is not married to the abuser.

The PFA can:

• Prohibit the abuser from contacting you, you from contacting the abuser, or both

• Give you possession of your home and forbid the abuser from coming on the property. (Note: If the abuser owns the home and you are not married to the abuser, the judge cannot give you possession)

• Require you or the abuser to provide housing for the spouse and minor children

• Award temporary custody, residency, and parenting time with minor children

• Order law enforcement to evict one of the parties from the household

• Order child support and/or alimony to the abused spouse for one year, with the possibility of extension

• Award costs and attorney’s fees

• Order law enforcement to help a party secure possession of their personal items from the home

• Require the abuser to seek counseling

• Prohibit the abuser from canceling utility services for 60 days after the PFA is issued

Restraining orders cannot end your marriage or establish parentage of your children.

WORKPLACE RIGHTS FOR VICTIMS

Kansas law prohibits employers from discharging, discriminating, or retaliating against any victim of domestic violence or sexual assault who takes time off from work to seek a protective order from the court. This also extends to people who need to appear in court for related criminal or civil proceedings, seek medical attention for injuries sustained by the abuse, or obtain services from domestic violence, rape shelters, or counselors.

When possible, the abused employee must provide the employer with reasonable notice of a need to be absent, then provide documentation of the event after returning to work. If the employee has an unscheduled absence, the employer may not discharge or otherwise discriminate against the employee for 48 hours, after which the employee must provide documentation of the reason for the absence.

Employers are required to maintain confidentiality in the employee’s situation, including supporting documentation, to the extent possible.