We are here to help. If you or someone you know needs assistance, please reach out to us.
The Abused Adult Resource center can help. If you are a victim of stalking, you should keep a Stalking Log with information about the suspect and all incidents. This log may help in validating your feelings as well as reporting.
Crisis intervention is a necessary step to breaking the cycle of violence and victimization. Our advocates provide emotional support and services to survivors of elder abuse.
Our free and confidential services include:
24-hour crisis intervention and advocacy
Emergency shelter
Support groups
Referrals to counseling
Information and referrals for
- food
- clothing
- furniture
- medical care
- educational training
- financial assistance
- social services
Community education/presentations
Criminal Justice Assistance
Our certified domestic violence advocates assist survivors experiencing adult abuse(as defined under NDCC 14-07.1-01), with
- the Protection Order application
- courtroom advocacy
- providing emotional support during the protection order hearing
- follow-up and referral
- assistance with crime victims compensation
- and community education presentations.
What is a Domestic Violence Protection Order?
Protection Orders (or “POs”) are documents filed with the court system that, if granted, state that your abuser cannot contact you or be near you. Your children can also be protected under this order. Protection orders do NOT mean that your abuser will be charged with Domestic Violence, or that he/she will be immediately placed under arrest. He/she will not be arrested unless the Protection Order is violated after it has been served.
Who Can Request a Domestic Violence Protection Order?
According to the North Dakota Supreme Court website, “A spouse or former spouse, a family member, a parent, a child, a person related by blood or marriage, a person presently residing with the abusing person or who has resided with that person in the past, a person who has a child in common with the abusing person, persons who are in a dating relationship, or any other person with sufficient relationship to the abusing person as determined by the Court.”
Domestic Violence Protection Order Process
The victim (known as the “Petitioner”) completes the petition for the Protection Order and files it with the court. An advocate at the Abused Adult Resource Center (AARC) can help you with this. If the court finds that you are in immediate danger based on the information that was filed, they can issue a Temporary Protection Order.
A court hearing will be scheduled no later than 14 days after the temporary order is issued. This hearing is held to determine whether or not the court will extend the Protection Order. This gives both the Petitioner and the Respondent a chance to say why the Protection Order should or should not be extended. You can request that a AARC advocate be present with you at this hearing for support. However, please keep in mind that we are not lawyers. If you wish to have a lawyer present, you must arrange this prior to the hearing.
Signs of Stalking
Most stalking is done by someone known to the survivor, such as a current or former partner. Yet some survivors are stalked by complete strangers.
Stalking can include a wide array of behaviors:
- Does someone always seem to be just around the corner when you are going to work, are out with friends, or in your neighborhood?
- Does someone keep making unwanted phone calls to your home or work?
- Do you find signs that someone has been in or near your home, your car, or your workplace when you were not there?
- Are you receiving repeated letters, gifts, cards, social media posts and/or emails even though you told the sender to stop sending them?
- Has someone tried to get information about you from a third person like a family member, friend, or co-worker?
- Is someone posting information or spreading rumors about you on the internet, in a public place, or by word of mouth?
If you have concerns for yourself or someone you know, please contact the Abused Adult Resource Center for help.
Information from www.nia.nih.gov & www.cawsnorthdakota.org