In this article our Polk County domestic abuse attorneys will discuss what constitutes Domestic Abuse under Iowa law and how to obtain a civil protective order to protect a victim from their abuser. In Iowa, domestic abuse is an assault between people who are in one of a number of types of relationship. Under Iowa law, there are four main relationships that qualify under the domestic abuse statute. These relationships are married, divorced, have children together, and living together or have lived together within 1 year prior to the assault taking place. If you do not fit within these categories, establishing an intimate relationship by showing romantic involvement (which does not have to include sexual engagement) could also qualify as a relationship under Iowa law.

In this video, our Polk County domestic abuse attorneys explain how child abuse is defined in Iowa Code 232.68. It means:

• Any non accidental physical injury suffered by a child as the result of the acts or omissions of a person responsible for care of the child;
• A noticeable or well documented mental injury, diagnosed by a mental health professional or physician, which has substantially harmed the child’s psychological or intellectual capacity.  
• The commission of a sexual offense with or to a child because of the acts or omissions of the person responsible for the care of the child and who resides in the home of the child.  
• The failure of a person responsible for the care of the child to provide for the adequate food, shelter, clothing, medical or mental health treatment, supervision, or other care necessary for the child’s health and welfare when financially able to do so or when offered financial or other reasonable means to do so. This is judged based on what a reasonable person would do given similar facts and circumstances and the failure re

• Allowing a child to participate in prostitution or other commercial sexual activity  
• An illegal drug present in the child’s body as a direct and foreseeable consequence of the acts or omissions of the person responsible for the care of the child.
• The person caring for the child, in the presence of a child, unlawfully uses, possesses, manufactures, cultivates, or distributes a dangerous substance, or knowingly allows someone else to do this in the presence of the child. This not only covers drugs, but also things like some explosives.  
• Bestiality in the presence of a child
• Unsupervised access to a registered sex offender (unless this person is a parent or guardian, or a parent’s spouse, or a child required to register who lives in the home)

• Knowingly allowing the child access to obscene material, or knowingly disseminating or exhibiting this material to a child.

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In this video, our Polk County domestic abuse attorneys explain how In the state of Iowa, there are several types of protective orders.  The determination of which type of protective order you need is dependent on the events prior to the filing of the order, as well as the restrictions you would like to establish moving forward and severity of crimes committed.  The aggrieved party can file for a criminal no-contact, civil no-contact, or civil protective order, depending on the circumstances of the case. Iowa law limits the categories of people who can get a protective order.  Qualifications include those who are a spouse, ex-spouse, a member of the household at the time of the assault or people who have lived together within one year before the assault occurred, people that have a child together, or persons in an intimate relationship.