I need a Sexual Assault Protective Order.

Under Texas law, it is sexual assault if anyone, male or female, made you have sex by using force or threatening to hurt you or someone close to you. Specifically, this can mean:

• Someone put their penis, finger or other object in your vagina or anus by using force or harm;
• Someone put their penis in your mouth by using force or threat of harm;
• Someone put your penis or vagina in contact with the mouth, anus, penis or vagina of any other person, by using force or threat of harm.

It is also sexual assault if anyone ever made you do any of these things while you were unconscious, drunk or otherwise incapacitated.

Furthermore, it is sexual assault if any adult (a person older than 18) had sexual contact with you when you were under the age of 17.

The duration of a sexual assault protective order can be from 2 years up to a lifetime.

No. However, if you did file a report, include that information in your petition.

By law, you cannot be charged any court fees associated with applying for a protective order. This includes filing fees and court costs.

Note: If you hire a private attorney to represent you in a protective order application, you will have to pay that attorney their attorney’s fees.

• Yes. You can request that your home, work, school and daycare addresses and phone numbers be kept confidential. However, your county of residence will be disclosed through the application process.
• To make your information confidential, you should file a document called “Confidential Information Not to be Disclosed” and list the information you want kept confidential. This document is included in the Sexual Assault Protective Order Kit. 

• You can start by contacting your local county and district attorney’s office. They may apply on your behalf.
  • Note: You may also contact the county or district attorney’s offices in the county in which the respondent lives or where the assault occurred. You are eligible to apply for a protective order in any one of these counties.
• You can also contact free legal aid organizations listed in our Legal Help directory they can apply for you as well.
• You can hire a private attorney to apply for a sexual assault protective order for you.
• You can also apply for a sexual assault protective order on your own with the forms included in this packet (this is called applying “pro se”).

The protective order is a civil lawsuit and criminal charges are separate, criminal court actions. Each case has different requirements and one does not affect the other, except that if a record is made in the protective order hearing, the criminal court can introduceyour previous sworn testimony into evidence.

For this reason, it is important to contact an attorney before filing a protective order. It is also important to review your statements before court and make sure you are consistent with each one. Court can be stressful, especially is your abuser is present. The more you review your statement before court, the better prepared you will be.

Also note, it is OK to say you don’t remember something if you really don’t remember it. Attorneys in court may ask you for many details that you cannot remember. It is better to say you don’t remember than to try and guess.