Your Legal Corner: Domestic violence and dating
Published: Friday, October 01, 2010, 3:00 AM
Updated: Friday, October 01, 2010, 6:29 AM
　Victoria M. Dalton, Esq.　
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that one in 11 adolescents say they have been the victim of physical dating violence.
The CDC also reports one in four teens said they have been exposed to verbal, physical or sexual assault each year.
Familiarity with the signs of domestic violence, as well as basic complaint-filing protocol, will help in addressing adolescent dating abuse.

Prevention of Dating Violence

Prevention initiatives include domestic violence education and defining healthy dating practices.
In New Jersey, a bill is pending which would address teen dating violence. If the bill is approved, dating violence education would be incorporated into the health education curriculum for students in grades seven through 12. Topics to be addressed are warning signs of dating violence and defining healthy dating practices.
Most notably, domestic violence education needs to go beyond the students to teaching their parents. Schools could accomplish this by incorporating their student program into a parent-teacher night. This would be a vital step, because, after all, who but the parents are closest to the child, having a heightened ability to spot or recognize a domestic violence relationship earlier?

Some overt signs to watch for are: unexplainable physical injuries and/or extremely emotional interaction between the adolescent couple.

For the abusers, it's all about the power and control. For the victims, because an abuser may be an average Joe, a football hero or the prom beauty, they may not come forward for fear they will not be believed. Or perhaps a telling victim will risk lowered classroom popularity or status as a result of coming forward.
Ultimately, when you suspect domestic violence, you need to be in your kids’ business to know what to do next!

Filing a Complaint as an Adolescent

The New Jersey Domestic Violence Procedures Manual was established to ensure that the procedures in domestic violence cases are similar in the state, no matter where filed. There are special provisions for teen dating relationships, and when and where to file.
Under Section 2.1.3: A domestic violence victim may be below the age of 18. However, the domestic violence defendant must be over age 18 or emancipated at the time of the offense to be charged under the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act.
But, although a person under 18 years of age and not emancipated who commits an act of domestic violence cannot be charged under the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act, that person can be charged in some circumstances under the Code of Juvenile Justice. This is not the same as filing a domestic violence complaint.
If, based on the information above, you were to file for a civil domestic violence complaint, Section 2.1.1 states a victim of domestic violence must have access to the courts at all times. A victim must never be turned away because of the inconvenience of arranging off-hours relief.
Under Section 2.1.2, a law enforcement officer responding to a domestic must provide the victim with the needed assistance to file for a temporary restraining order (TRO). An officer may not prevent, discourage or postpone a victim from seeking immediate temporary relief merely because the domestic violence occurs after regular business hours.
When visible signs of abuse are present, a complaint must be filed by an officer even when the victim refuses. The state’s need to preserve life trumps a victim's refusal to sign a complaint.
Additionally, the victim's burden is then removed, because the state is filing the complaint against the abuser, not the victim.
If you choose to file a complaint, you do not need an attorney to do so, whether in the court house or at the police station. Alternatively, you may want to retain an attorney well-versed in domestic violence law for when you have your day in court.

Kindly note, Your Legal Corner is meant solely as a guide and should not be construed as legal advice.

Victoria M. Dalton, Esq., is a Family/ Elder Law Attorney, Of Counsel with the Law Firm of Hoffman DiMuzio, 35 Hunter St., Woodbury, N.J. 08096. To contact Victoria, e-mail her atvdalton@hdhlaw.com　or phone　856- 812-0706　or　856-845-8243.