4.1.1 Are there civil protection orders available to victims of domestic abuse?
Yes, civil protection orders are available to victims of domestic abuse to immediately prevent, or put an end to, violence, mistreatment or aggression. Civil protection orders can be requested before a family commissioner of the place where the abuse occurred or continues to occur or, if there is no family commissioner in place, before the family judge or municipal civil judge.
4.1.2 Who can petition for civil protection orders?
Civil protection orders can be petitioned by the victim or by any other person acting on their behalf. If the victim is unable to petition for a civil protection order on their own, such requests can be petitioned by the family public defender.
It is important to note that community in general and neighbors of a victim of domestic violence are required to report the occurrence of an act of domestic violence before competent authorities.4.1.3 Are there temporary custody of a child or child support orders?
Yes, civil protection orders may include either temporary or definitive measures to regulate the custody of children. Civil protection orders can decide who will be responsible for maintenance payments.
4.1.4 Is there a provision to order the abuser to move out or stay away from places that the victims frequent?
Civil protection orders may provide for the aggressor to refrain from entering any place where the victim is if, in the opinion of the judge, such limitation is necessary to prevent the aggressor from disturbing, intimidating, threatening or in any other way interfering with the victim or the minors whose provisional custody has been granted to the victim.
4.1.5 Are there any other types of emergency, preventive and civil protection orders?
No, the only civil emergency or preventive orders are civil protection orders. Civil protection orders may provide for the following:
- ordering the aggressor to be evicted from the house they share with the victim when their presence constitutes a threat to the life, physical integrity or health of any of the family members
- prohibiting the aggressor from relocating any children or disabled members of the family
- obliging the aggressor to attend educational and therapeutic treatment in a public or private institution that offers such services, at the expense of the aggressor
- ordering the aggressor to pay for the expenses of orientation and legal, medical and psychological advice required by the victim, if necessary
- ordering special temporary protection to be granted by the police to the victim, both at home and in the workplace, when the violence or mistreatment is serious and the authorities fear it will be repeated
- upon request of the victim, ordering the police to accompany and protect them in the process or when re-entering the place of residence
- suspending the aggressor's right to possess, bear and use weapons in cases where these are essential for his profession
- deciding provisionally who will be in charge of maintenance payments (pensiones alimentarias), without prejudice to the competence in civil matters of other authorities who may ratify or modify this measure
- provisionally deciding the use and benefit of the family home, without prejudice to the competence in civil matters of other authorities who may ratify or modify this measure
- prohibiting the aggressor from carrying out any act of alienation or encumbrance of their property if they had a marital community
- ordering the aggressor to return the personal belongings, identity documents and any other documents or objects of property or custody of the victim
- any other civil protection order necessary to fulfill the objective of Law 294 which is to prevent, remedy and punish domestic violence
4.1.6 Can these orders be requested by direct or indirect victims or legal representatives in children's cases?
Civil protection orders cannot be requested by a person other than the victim, a person acting on their behalf (with their consent) or by the family defender. The law does not have a particular rule for victims who are minors, but Law 294 provides that if the judge or family commissioner determines that any member of the family group has been subject to domestic violence, it can also issue a civil protection order to protect other family members.
4.1.7 Are there different types of civil protection orders, e.g., for a short- term period?
Civil protection orders can be temporary or permanent depending upon the stage of the process. As a general rule, civil protection orders are temporary when issued before the conciliation hearing to prevent any continuation of acts of violence against the victim; in this case, civil protection orders will be grounded on evidence. Civil protection orders are permanent if, after the conciliatory hearing and discovery, the authority concludes that the victim has, indeed, been the subject of domestic violence by the aggressor.
4.1.8 Are ex parte orders permitted without the aggressor being present?
Yes, ex parte orders are permitted without the aggressor being present, under the assumption that an "ex parte order" is "an order made by the court upon the application of one party to an action without notice to the order."[12] The family commissioner or the judge, as the case may be, upon receiving the civil protection order request and determining the existence of serious indications of domestic violence, may issue within the following four hours provisional civil protection orders to avoid the persistence of any acts of violence, aggression, mistreatment, threat or offense against the victim.[13]
Furthermore, if the aggressor does not attend the conciliatory hearing having been summoned to it, it is understood that they accept all charges against them.[14]4.1.9 Do emergency orders also extend protection for abuse and intimidation to family members of the victim?
Law 294 doesn't expressly establish the possibility of extending protection by means of the civil protection orders to family members of the victim. That being said, some of the civil protection orders (as set out above) concern family members as well.
Please note that the list of civil protection orders contained in Article 5 of Law 294 is not exhaustive. Moreover, the list includes any other civil protection order necessary to prevent, remedy and punish domestic violence, and therefore there is nothing preventing the judge or the commissioner from ordering a civil protection order that extends protection for abuse and intimidation to family members of the victim.4.1.10 How long do the orders last?
If civil protection orders are issued before the conciliatory hearing, they may last until the process is finalized if, at the end, the judge or family commissioner concludes that there was no domestic violence. However, at any time thereafter if any interested parties, public ministry or the family public defendant can demonstrate that the circumstances that gave rise to the civil protection order have been overcome, they may request that the official who issued the civil protection order terminates it.
4.1.11 Please provide any data or hyperlinks to government or NGO websites that include information on how often civil protection orders are issued, and any relevant demographics information, e.g., police reports, convictions, etc.
- http://www.equidadmujer.gov.co/ejes/Documents/Informe-Congreso-Ley-1257-2017-2018.pdf
- http://www.equidadmujer.gov.co/ejes/Documents/Informe-Congreso-Ley-1257-2016-2017.pdf
- https://www.defensoria.gov.co/public/pdf/Informe%20Defensorial-Violencias-Basadas-Genero-Discriminacion.pdf
- https://mlr.vicepresidencia.gov.co/Paginas/prensa/2020/Apoyo-por-violencia-intrafamiliar-a-4385-mujeres-durante-cuarentena.aspx
- https://www.medicinalegal.gov.co/documents/20143/355927/ViolenciaMujer_EneFeb.pdf/f32dc467-e05b-0a5f-c54f-fe9448073151
- https://www.medicinalegal.gov.co/documents/20143/355927/Violencia+Genero+Grupos+Etnicos.pdf/dc708b04-1a49-1ff7-a93b-bb7acded9f62
4.2.1 What documentation is needed to obtain a civil protection order?
There is no specific documentation required to petition for and obtain a civil protection order. Rather, civil protection orders can be requested either in writing, verbally or by any other appropriate means to communicate to the competent authority the circumstances that constitute domestic violence.
However, the civil protection order request must include at least the following information: (i) name of the person who reports and ID, if possible; (ii) name of the victim or victims of domestic violence; (iii) name and domicile of the aggressor; (iv) description of the facts that constitute domestic violence; and (v) petition of evidence that is considered necessary to the case.4.2.2 Does the victim need to attend a hearing?
Yes, the victim must attend the conciliatory hearing. If the victim is disabled or in a defenseless situation, their representative must attend the hearing. Failure to attend by a victim's representative will be considered as a serious disciplinary offense for the representative (not for the victim). The conciliatory hearing must be scheduled to occur within five to 10 days following the filing of the civil protection order request.
The parties (victim/representative and/or aggressor) may excuse themselves for not attending the hearing. However they may only do so once and must show just cause for failure to attend. The judge or family commissioner will analyze the just cause invoked by the party and, if appropriate, it will reschedule the hearing to take place within the next five days. This situation is managed differently when the victim is a child (see below).4.2.3 Can you request remedies?
If necessary, the family commissioner or judge will order the aggressor to pay for all medical, psychological and psychiatric expenses of the victim.
Currently, the Colombian government must guarantee accommodation, transportation and meals for domestic violence victims. This is the only assistance that the victims are entitled to receive from the state. No payment of other remedies is established in the law but, as mentioned below, by Decision SU 080, the Constitutional Court has ordered Congress to discuss and issue legislation to include additional monetary remedies.4.2.4 Are there time limits?
Yes, civil protection orders must be filed within 30 days following the occurrence of domestic violence.
4.2.5 Are there different rules in emergencies?
No, there are no different rules in emergencies. The family commissioner or the judge must order a civil protection order within four hours of its request provided the request is evidenced. This civil protection order will contain temporary measures aimed at stopping any violence, aggression, mistreatment, threat or affront against the victim.
4.3.1 What discretion does a judge have in granting a civil protection order or other protective orders?
A judge or family commissioner has discretion as to the type of civil protection order. However, its decision must be duly motivated.[15] If the competent authority determines, according to available evidence, that the victim has been the subject of domestic violence, the authority will issue a motivated decision ordering a civil protection order (whichever it considers appropriate). Depending on each case, the authority may order any kind of protective order, provided it is duly motivated, such as: (i) sending the victim and her children to a place where their life, dignity and integrity is guaranteed; (ii) ordering a change of jail if the victim is currently a prisoner; and (iii) any other measure that the authority considers appropriate to comply with the purposes of the law.
4.3.2 Are there age limits on who can obtain orders?
No. The law does not establish age limits on those who can obtain orders.
4.4.1 Can victims obtain reimbursement for costs and restitution paid?
Domestic violence law does not grant victims the right to request that the aggressor pay additional costs and restitutions, aside from medical, psychological and psychiatric expenses to the victim.
However, as previously mentioned, the Constitutional Court studied this particular issue in Decision SU-080.