An offence 500 penalty units and 2 years less imprisonment, 1 penalty unit is GH12
Whether there has been domestic violence depends on:
Violence in domestic situation not justified on basis of consent
Whether single or multitude acts of violence shall suffice, minimal or trivial acts may form pattern of behaviour as viewed as domestic violence
Who can file complaint with police?
Victim, someone with info, child by a friend, family relative of victim, social worker, welfare officer, probation officer, victim’s personal representative
May be filed where victim lives, offender lives
The Act provides that police mandatorily ‘shall’ request for assistance in cases and to give protection to people who make reports
Police role: respond to request and offer protection, interview parties and witnesses, record complaint and help victim obtain medical report, arrest with or without warrant
One who wants to avoid domestic violence on his or her person may apply to court for an order of protection which lasts for 12 months, and this prevents the facilitator from committing the act against the applicant especially no contacts with applicant and not coming within 50 metres of applicant