Step 2: Writing your Statement

In addition to completing an application from, you will need to present evidence to the Court. In the first instance this is done by means of completing a witness statement.

Your statement must tell the court your story; setting out all the facts upon which you rely in support of your claim for an Order. It must set out the history and nature of your relationship to the other person, any children you have (together with their parentage), any violence or threats and the effect of them upon you.

When you are preparing your witness statement remember that it tells your story to the judge; he will not know you and you must explain yourself and your circumstances as you would to a total stranger. Ideally your statement should be typed. If you want to see an example of a statement, click on ther link below:

As you would expect if someone made an allegation against you, the court will ultimately want to hear both sides of the story. However, courts recognise that it is not always sensible to tell the other person that you have asked for an injunction until you have some protection. There is never any excuse for domestic violence.

For this reason, you can ask the Court to make a Non-molestation Order without telling the other person first. When you do this, you are said to have made the application “without notice”. In domestic violence cases it is usual to make a without notice application. However, you must say in your statement why you do not want the other side to know about the application in the first instance (for example because you fear you will suffer further violence or threats if you were to say).

Also, if you make your application without notice, you must be careful not to say anything in your witness statement that is biased, misleading or incomplete. You must tell the Court everything even if it is not favourable to your case. So, for instance, if the other person was prosecuted in the past for being violent to you but was acquitted you must say that he has been acquitted; it may be misleading simply to say he was prosecuted.

You will need to take three copies of your statement to Court.