Restraining orders
An evaluation of the law and its application
The Law on the Restraining Orders was introduced with the objective of better protecting individuals who are being persecuted and harassed. The law was introduced as a part of efforts being made to restrict incidents of violence perpetrated against women in the context of intimate relationships. The National Council for Crime Prevention has evaluated the law and its effects.
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- © Brottsförebyggande rådet 2003
- urn:nbn:se:bra-141
- Report 2003:2
About the study
The Law on the Restraining Orders was introduced with the objective of better protecting individuals who are being persecuted and harassed. The law was introduced as a part of efforts being made to restrict incidents of violence perpetrated against women in the context of intimate relationships. Being issued with a contact prohibition order means that a person may no longer visit nor attempt actively to make contact in any other way with the individual the order is intended to protect. Over recent years, an average of 6,600 individuals per year have applied for a restraining order to be issued, with just under half of these applications being approved. In a little more than 70 per cent of the cases, the applicant is either a woman applying for an order to be issued to a man with whom she is or has been involved in an intimate relationship, or a relative of the woman applying for an order to be issued to the same man.