Yes. The civil protection orders available are guidance from the police, exclusion orders, restraining orders and removal orders (see the Danish Law on Detention, Restraining Order and Exclusion (lov om tillhold, opholdsforbud og bortvisning) (No. 112 of 3 February 2012)).

The guidance from the police includes guidance regarding the rules in this area and help trying to solve potential conflicts between the parties involved.

Exclusion orders (tilhold) are a prohibition on the perpetrator to contact or follow the victim. The prohibition includes oral and written advances, e.g., emails, voice and text messages and social media messages. The character of the contact is irrelevant and the order includes indirect approaches as well.

When a person is suspected of having committed a gross crime against a person, the victim can get a restraining order (opholdsforbud) against them.

Yes, temporary custody of a child exists (see Chapter 5, Section 26 of the Danish Law on Parent Responsibility (Bekendtgørelse af forældreansvarsloven) (No. 776 of 7 August 2019)).

The question of contact with a child when a violent partner has visitation rights is dealt with by the Registry Office (Statsamt) and is not necessarily connected to the question on restriction orders.^[29]

See also Chapter 3, Section 14 of the Danish Law on Detention, Restraining Order and Exclusion (lov om tillhold, opholdsforbud og bortvisning) (No. 112 of 3 February 2012), which states that detention, restraining orders and exclusion orders may be issued if requested by a protected person or when general considerations demand it.

A removal order (bortvisning) may be issued without a request from the protected person if there is an essential risk that family members will be subject to significant abuse.^[30]

See Section 4.1 for the different types of civil protection orders.

Yes. The regulations do not focus or limit the application to certain groups of victims; it includes all persons living in the same household.^[32]

According to Chapter 1, Section 6 of the Danish Law on Detention, Restraining Order and Expulsion (lov om tillhold, opholdsforbud og bortvisning) (No. 112 of 3 February 2012), an exclusion order/restraining order can include protection for all members of the household, if it is necessary, considering the purpose of the exclusion order/restraining order.

An exclusion order can last for up to one year, while a restraining order can be enforceable for up to five years (see Chapter 1, Section 1 of the Danish Law on Detention, Restraining Order and Exclusion (lov om tillhold, opholdsforbud og bortvisning) (No. 112 of 3 February 2012)).

A removal order can be enforceable for up to four weeks and the police may detain a person for up to 24 hours in connection with the removal.

Immediate detention: Until further notice. Until the police make a decision regarding an exclusion order (Chapter 1, Section 2 of the lov om tilholdupholdsforbud og bortvisning) or a restraining order (Chapter 1, Section 4 of the lov om tilhold, upholdforbud og bortvisning) or until the immediate detention is recalled.^[34]

Tilhold^[35] (PO-com) or a restriction order: This is granted for a limited amount of time, up to a maximum of five years (see Chapter 1, Section 5 of the lov om tilhold, upholdforbud og bortvisning).

The order could be extended by issuing a new PO-com after five years if the conditions of issuing a PO-com are still met.^[36]

Upholdsforbud^[37] (PO-visit): This is granted for a limited amount of time, up to a maximum period of one year (see Chapter 1, Section 5 of the lov om tilhold, upholdsforbud og bortvisning). A new PO-visit can be issued after one year if the conditions are still met.^[38]

PO-com, PO-visit and strakstilhold: If the parties establish peaceful relations, the restriction orders can be waived before the end of the period, even if the peaceful relations are temporary.^[39] The protected person of a PO-com or a PO-visit may make a request for the order to be withdrawn. In that case, the police are allowed to assess whether there are any general considerations in favor of preserving the arrangement. This secures that the protected person has not been threatened to request withdrawing the order.^[40]

The restriction order should be repealed if the person who is subject to the restriction order is acquitted for the acts on which the restriction order is based and there are no other grounds for the restriction order.^[41]

Bortvisning (BO):^[42] This is granted for a limited amount of time — up to four weeks (Chapter 2, Section 10 of the lov om tilhold, upholdsforbud og bortvisning). The order can be extended after the period of four weeks concludes, for a maximum of four weeks at a time, if the requirements are still met after the expiration of the previous BO.^[43]

Tabel A: Meddelte strakstilhold I perioden 2017-2020*

Tabel B: Meddelte tilhold mv. i perioden 2016-2020*

Tabel 2: Antallet af meddelte bortvisninger 2015-2020*

*Det skal bemærkes, at opgorelsen er baseret på dynamiske data, hvilket betyder, at opgorelsen ikke er endelig, idet der f.eks kan forekomme efterregistrermger. Data er opdateret den 3 maj 2020.

Table 7: Antal meddelte tilhold og opholdsforbud**

The process should be quick — it should take between 30 and 60 days to achieve a restriction order depending on the circumstances of the case.^[47]

The decision on a protection order has to be formally brought to the attention of the person concerned (forkyndelse) (see Chapter 3, Section 16 of the lov om tilhold, upholdforbud og bortvisning).

However, the immediate detention (strakstilhold) should work in the meantime while the police investigate if ordinary detention should be issued.^[48]

See Chapter 3, Section 12 of the lov om tilhold, upholdsforbud og bortvisning (No. 112 of 3 February 2012) where the proportionality principle is stated. There should always be a certain proportionality assessment to evaluate whether the measure was proportionate.

There are no age limits on who can obtain an exclusion order (tilhold), immediate detention (strakstilhold) or a restraining order (opholdforbud).

Expulsion (bortvisning) can be obtained if the person is 18 years old or older (Chapter 2, Section 7 of the lov om tilhold, upholdforbud og bortvisning (No. 112 of 3 February 2012)).

Yes, victims can obtain reimbursement from the Danish state (Erstatningsnævnet) or the perpetrator. The right to compensation from the state lapses if the victim receives compensation from the perpetrator.

The victim is eligible for compensation from the state if the following circumstances apply:

• The victim has suffered harm as a consequence of a violation of the Danish Criminal Code.
• The victim has suffered personal injury.
• The victim reported the crime to the police within 72 hours of the incident (see Chapter 3, Section 10 of the Offerstatningsloven (No. 1209 of 18 November 2014)). Late reporting of the crime may be disregarded if, for example, you were unable to report the crime due to serious injury.
• The victim has made a claim for compensation against the offender if the case has been tried by the court and the victim was unsuccessful in claiming compensation.
• The victim has claimed compensation from the Board within two years after the offense was committed or after the judgment became final or after the date of the decision by the police to discontinue the investigation (see Chapter 3, Section 13).
• The offender does not compensate the injury or it is not covered by insurance money or any other payment in the nature of genuine damage (see Chapter 3, Section 7).

Cost and restitution from the state

The victim first has the possibility of getting compensation from the Erstatningsnævnet. The institute consists of a referee, a member that has been appointed by the social minister and a member appointed by the Danish Bar and the Law Society Council.

According to the Offerstatningsloven (No. 1209 of 18 November 2014), the Danish state compensates the victim for damage to their person, including physical and psychological injuries.

The conditions eligible for compensation are as follows:

• The victim has suffered harm as a consequence of a violation of the Danish Criminal Code.
• The victim has suffered personal injury.
• The victim reported the crime to the police within 72 hours of the incident (see Chapter 3, Section 10). Late reporting of the crime may be disregarded if, for example, you were unable to report the crime due to serious injury.
• The victim has made a claim for compensation against the offender if the case has been tried by the court and the victim was unsuccessful in claiming compensation.
• The victim has claimed compensation from the Board within two years after the offense was committed or after the judgment became final or after the date of the decision by the police to discontinue the investigation (see Chapter 3, Section 13).
• The injury is not compensated by the offender or it is not covered by insurance money or any other payment in the nature of genuine damage (see Chapter 3, Section 7).

The compensation considers the costs for personal property, medicine, dental care, healthcare, loss of income and permanent injuries (see Chapter 1, Section 1 of the Offerstatningsloven). The compensation for psychological injuries includes pain and suffering, and nonpecuniary damage. In special cases, the Erstatningsnævnet may award compensation for legal fees.

Cost and restitution from the perpetrator

The victim can retrieve compensation from the perpetrator through a law called the Erstatningsansvarsloven (No. 1070 of 24 August 2018). According to Chapter 1, Section 1 of this law, the victim can retrieve compensation for damage to a person. Damages to a person consider compensation for loss of wage, healthcare and other losses caused by the injury. If the injury results in permanent injuries, these will be compensated as well (Chapter 1, Section 1 of the Erstatningsansvarsloven).

Furthermore, the victim has the right to get compensation for nonpecuniary damage if the damage is as a result of an unlawful violation of the victim's freedom, peace, honor or person (Chapter 3, Section 26). Particular regard should be taken if the violation is of Chapter 23 or 24 of the Danish Criminal Code.

The right to compensation from the state lapses if the victim receives compensation from the perpetrator.

Compensation from the state

A civil process is not required to receive compensation from the state. However, the victim has to hand in an application form for compensation. The form can be collected from the police or through the Erstatningsnævnet's website. When the Erstatningsnævnet has received the application, the Board makes a decision, which is notified to the victim as soon as possible after the decision has been made.

Compensation from the perpetrator

A civil process is required unless the inquiry of liability is handled during the criminal process.