Family Injunctions

Helping you secure protection and peace of mind

An estimated 2.3 million adults aged 16 to 74 years experienced domestic abuse or domestic violence in the last year. Many people believe that the police are the only authority that are able to offer protection from such abuse.

However, in certain circumstances the family court also have the power to grant protective orders – more commonly known as family injunctions – to prevent perpetrators of domestic violence from contacting or abusing the victim further.

Breach of such orders is a criminal offence, meaning that the perpetrator can be immediately arrested if they were to breach the order.

Family Injunctions

Types of family injunctions

There are two types of injunctions that the family court can order under the Family Law Act 1996:

  • A non-molestation order – this can prohibit your partner, former partner or associated person from being violent or threatening violence to you or any children. It can also prohibit that person from contacting you directly or indirectly and/or prohibit them from coming within 100 metres of any property where you might be living.
  • An occupation order – this allows the court to decide who should live, or not live, in the family home. It can exclude a person from the family home and/or the area surrounding the home. An occupation order can also grant you permission to return to the home even after you have fled the house due to the abuse.

If you find yourself in a position where you think you need a family injunction, our experienced team will be on hand to help you make an application and represent you at court hearings.

Equally, if you find out that somebody has applied for a family injunction against you, we can advise you on your options and represent you throughout the proceedings.

Using Rothera Bray

We can apply for a family injunction on an urgent basis to ensure your protection as soon as possible. If we feel it is appropriate, we’re able to make an application to court to seek an ex-parte (without notice) order without your abuser even knowing. This can then protect you until the court can decide to grant a family injunction in the longer term.

Our team are skilled advocates who are able to represent you throughout the court hearings as well as preparing the application and statements, ensuring you get the continuity and support you need.

We have strong relationships with the likes of Women’s Aid and men’s support services and work with these organisations to ensure you receive the appropriate support.

We are able to advise on any children matters that may arise as a result of the family injunction application to ensure that your children are also protected.

Our child care team are able to advise on the appropriateness of a family injunction if social services ask you to obtain one or if you are already in child care proceedings.

We are also able to defend respondents (alleged perpetrators of abuse) within family injunction proceedings to ensure an order isn’t unjustly made against you.

Our family lawyers can also help with:

Divorce services

If you also wish to apply for a divorce, our team can help.

Divorce Solicitors

Children and divorce

Understand your rights and the processes involved to secure the best outcome for your children.

Children and Divorce

Prohibited steps orders

Discover how you can stop a ex-partner from making sole decisions about about their child’s medical treatment, schooling, living arrangements or family name.

Prohibited Steps Orders
Don’t wait until it’s too late – contact us about an injunction today.
Rebecca Emeleus
Rebecca Emeleus, Head of Family Law at Rothera Bray

Contact our Divorce and Family Law team

Divorce and Family Law reviews

August 19, 2026
We would like to thank you all, for everything you have done. From the bottom of our hearts. You have all worked above and beyond. I honestly cannot thank you enough. If anyone needs a family solicitor, I will recommend your team.
- Family law client
August 17, 2026
I am with great pleasure writing to thank you for my experience with Rothera Bray. The team I have dealt with have been professional friendly & have dealt with my matter during this time. Therefore I would not hesitate to recommend this firm of solicitors.
- Josephine
July 29, 2026
Thank you for all your support and guidance throughout this matter. I really appreciate everything you have done to help bring this to a conclusion.
- Mr G
July 14, 2026
Cannot speak highly of the team at Rothera Bray Beeston, who helped me along to get my issue resolved. Special mention goes to Jack English, who showed incredible resilience, along with a large dose of patience whilst guiding me along the way, so that the correct result was obtained. Would have no hesitation in recommending this practice for whatever legal service you require. Thank you once more!
- Lee S
July 13, 2026
My divorce was a long drawn out process thanks to my ex-husband and Sarah made it a lot less stressful due to her professional caring nature and her expertise. Thank you.
- Karen
July 13, 2026
We cannot thank Rothera Bray enough for the outstanding support they provided throughout our Special Guardianship Order (SGO) process. Thanks to their expertise, professionalism, and dedication, we achieved a successful outcome, and we genuinely couldn't have done it without them. A special thank you goes to Ann-Marie and Emily, who guided us every step of the way. They were always there to offer advice, reassurance, and practical support whenever we needed it. No question was ever too much trouble, and they responded to any concerns or issues incredibly quickly, giving us confidence throughout what was a very challenging and emotional process. Their professionalism, knowledge, and attention to detail are of the highest standard. They made us feel supported from start to finish and always had our best interests at heart. We are truly grateful for everything they have done for our family and would wholeheartedly recommend Rothera Bray to anyone in need of exceptional legal representation. Thank you again, Ann-Marie and Emily, for making such a positive difference to our lives.
- Barbara
July 2, 2026
We just wanted to say a big thank you now the court cases and paperwork are completed. As always you made our journey through the 3rd court hearing very reassuring and supportive...Thank you so much for working so hard for us.
- David G
June 29, 2026
Having had to unfortunately move from a previous solicitor due to their frankly awful service I was recommended Emily Sherwood at Rothera Bray. I can honestly say she was incredible. She helped me re-group, ground myself and get back on track in an incredibly difficult situation and the end result was vastly different from the path it was heading. I would highly recommend Emily, and Rothera Bray. Hopefully I won't need to use the services of a solicitor again but if I do I would not hesitate to reach back out to them. Thank you again Emily for your sound advice, counsel and support.
- SH
June 22, 2026
Emily Sherwood was outstanding again, she is professional, supportive, kind, empathetic and efficient. I don’t know how I would have got through all of it without her. She truly is the best and I’m so lucky to have had her as my solicitor. Thank you Rothera bray for providing such a wonderful solicitor from your company.
- Gemma P
June 8, 2026
I recently spoke with David from Rothera Bray, found him and the whole team to be very helpful and professional. Dealing with a solicitor is not something most people have to do on a day to day basis and the team made it as easy and smooth as possible. Highly recommended.
- John Elliott
June 4, 2026
I’d like to say a massive thank you for all of Emily Sherwood and the teams help at Rothera Bay. Response to enquiries has been timely and everything discussed was dealt with empathy and professionalism. I was guided through the process and fees were discussed transparently, I’m very grateful for all the help received so far.
- Rebecca
May 22, 2026
I used Rebecca's services via Rothera Bray Solicitors to deal with the financial side to a divorce. I had an initial face to face appointment to talk through everything with Rebecca and this made me feel at ease and felt that Rebecca was the right person to help me. Rebecca has kept me highly informed at all stages throughout and has also given lots of great advice and has helped me a lot with getting things sorted. I am really happy with the service that I received and Rebecca was so friendly, kind, understanding and very helpful. I would 100% recommend to anyone who is requiring the help during a divorce.
- Leila
May 22, 2026
Rothera Bray have been excellent in helping me resolve a difficult and expensive divorce, I found them extremely efficient - communication was excellent at all points and generally they were there when I needed them, they all took a personal interest in my case and we arrived at a reasonable resolution thanks to their efforts Specially thanks to Rebecca Emeleus and Rebecca Hudson for their great work, Highly recommended in what are always going to be difficult situation! They are people that you can rely on - which is very important in divorce actions particularly.
- Stuart Randall
May 21, 2026
Sophie is kind and understanding. She explained everything and I felt I was in very capable hands. I would highly recommend Sophie.
- Philippa Stephenson
May 14, 2026
Sophie helped me through the whole experience of getting my case through to fruition with a court order result.
- Lesley
April 28, 2026
I cannot recommend Rothera Bray highly enough, and in particular Emily, who is truly outstanding. Emily took on my case again and from the very beginning she showed that she is unlike other solicitors. She took the time to genuinely listen to me, understand my situation, and focus on what was right for both myself and my children. That immediately set her apart. Where other solicitors had previously pushed their own views, suggesting I accept an undertaking or advising against pursuing a non-molestation order and a section 91(14) order, Emily approached things completely differently. She looked at the full picture, put the needs of the family first, and had the confidence and knowledge to push for what was truly necessary. The outcome has made a significant difference to our lives, and I genuinely believe it would not have been achieved without her. Emily is not only highly knowledgeable and professional, but also incredibly understanding. She puts her clients first, not what is easiest or quickest to achieve, and that level of care and commitment is rare. If you are looking for a solicitor who will truly listen, stand by you, and fight for the right outcome, I would recommend Emily and the team at Rothera Bray without hesitation.
- Nathan

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