Restraining Orders

To get a sexual assault protection order, you must show that you have been the victim of nonconsensual sexual conduct or penetration. The judge cannot require proof of physical injury or proof that you reported the sexual assault to law enforcement when considering whether to give you the order.¹

If you were sexually assaulted by a current/former intimate partner or family/household member, then you may qualify for a domestic violence protection order. However, a judge cannot deny your sexual assault protection order based on whether you would also qualify for a different type of order.²

Note: If the judge believes that you were the victim of sexual assault, the judge cannot deny your petition for a sexual assault protection order even if any of the following are true:

• you or the offender were voluntarily intoxicated by alcohol or drugs;
• you engaged in some consensual sexual touching before the sexual assault;
• you did not report the assault to law enforcement;
• you or the offender are minors (under age 18); or
• you do not have proof of a physical injury.¹

These things should not matter to the judge when deciding whether or not to grant you a sexual assault protection order.

¹ R.C.W. § 7.105.225(2)-(3)
² R.C.W. § 7.105.100(5)