An Easy Target
An order of protection does a few great things. First, it stops harassing contact. Well, as long as the abuser does not break the order or initiate third party contact to harass and stalk the protected party's social media. Second of all, I suppose it makes abuse and physical harm a little more illegal than it already is. Though, if the abuser decides to attack, the piece of paper held up in front of the victim offers in the way of physical protection. Finally, in my case, it hides my current home address from the abuser. Not switching the mailing address and being very careful about what companies and individuals are given my address helps keep it a bit safer as well. What an order of protection does not do, is offer any emotional support to overcome the abuse, eleviate the guilt of putting up with the abuse, or allow any explanation for why the abuse occurred. Most of all, an order of protection does not serve as a time machine to go back and change decisions so that I ...