On Your Own; Your Legal Right @ Eighteen On Your Own formatted final version | Page 65

don’t know whether the behavior is abusive, call the statewide Domestic
Violence Hotline at 1-800-228-7395.
If you and the person threatening you are dating or have dated, or are in
a sexual relationship or have been in a sexual relationship, you may also
file for a temporary relief from abuse order at any Vermont family court,
at no cost. If the judge grants the order, it will be valid until a hearing date,
which will be held within 14 days of the order date. At that hearing, after
both sides have an opportunity to be heard, the judge may grant a final
order for relief from abuse that usually is good for one year or more. It
may be renewed at the end of that period. For more information, visit the
Vermont judiciary’s website, www.vermontjudiciary.org/family/relief-
abuse.
The order will tell the abuser to stop abusing you, and the abuser may
have to follow certain conditions, such as staying away from where you
live or work or not contacting you. Sometimes the order includes
temporary living expenses. Violating a relief from abuse order is a crime.
There are other criminal law protections available through and enforced
by the police. You do not have to choose between family court and the
police to get protection from abuse; both the family and criminal courts
can protect you in different ways.
Sexual Violence
It is a crime to engage in a sexual act with a person without getting their
consent first. This is true even if the two people know each other or have
been dating for a long period of time. It’s true even if the people have
engaged in sexual activity before. In fact, in most instances of sexual
assault, the perpetrator and victim know each other. Non-consent
includes force through physical violence, but it also includes threats,
intimidation, and using drugs or alcohol to take advantage of the victim.
It is a crime to engage in a sexual act with someone under the age of 16,
regardless of whether or not that person consents, unless both people
involved are between 15 and 19 years old, and the act is consensual. Even
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