Child custody provisions in protection orders

• Legislation should  provide for placement of temporary custody of minor children to the non-violent parent.

• The legislation should contain a presumption that visitation by the violent parent should be supervised, and should not occur against the will of the child.  See:  Law of Spain; UN Handbook Part 3.10.8.2, and 3.13; and Domestic Violence and Child Custody, StopVAW.

Examples:

The Law of Bulgaria allows the court to do the following:

temporarily relocating the residence of the child with the parent who is the victim or with the parent who has not carried out the violent act as stake, on such terms and conditions and for such a period as is specified by the court, provided that this is not inconsistent with the best interests of the child. S. 5 (1) 4.

The Law of Sierra Leone states:

that a protection order may contain: (f)  a provision temporarily (i)  forbidding contact between the respondent and any child of the applicant; (ii)  specifying that contact between the respondent and a child of the applicant, must take place only in the presence and under the supervision of a social worker or a family member designated by the court for that purpose; or (iii) allowing such contact only under specified conditions designed to ensure the safety of the applicant, any child who may be affected, and any other family members; if the court is satisfied that that is reasonably necessary for the safety of the child in question; Part III 15 (f)   India’s approach is to allow a magistrate to grant temporary custody to the non-violent parent, and states that if the magistrate believes that any visit of the respondent may be harmful to the interests of the child, the magistrate may refuse to allow the visit. (See: law of India, sec.21.) See also : Law of Namibia.