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Florida Laws Related to IPV/DV
Florida statute XLIII, Chapter 741.28 provides the following definitions:
“Domestic violence” means any assault, aggravated assault, battery, aggravated battery, sexual assault, sexual battery, stalking, aggravated stalking, kidnapping, false imprisonment, or any criminal offense resulting in physical injury or death of one family or household member by another family or household member.
“Family or household member” means spouses, former spouses, persons related by blood or marriage, persons who are presently residing together as if a family or who have resided together in the past as if a family, and persons who are parents of a child in common regardless of whether they have been married. With the exception of persons who have a child in common, the family or household members must be currently residing or have in the past resided together in the same single dwelling unit.
Florida law requires the reporting of some categories of domestic violence. As discussed above, some definitions of domestic violence are quite broad and include child abuse and elder abuse. The Florida Department of Children and Families has the responsibility of providing protection for the victims of child abuse and the protection of “vulnerable adults,” which includes elder abuse and abuse of persons not mentally competent to care for themselves. Multiple healthcare providers, including nurses, are required to report child abuse and elder abuse. The statewide reporting number for such abuse situations is 1-800-96-ABUSE (1-800-962-2873).
Additionally, Florida. Stat. § 790.24 requires any physician, nurse, or employee thereof and any employee of a hospital, sanitarium, clinic, or nursing home who knowingly treats or is requested to treat any person suffering from a gunshot wound or life threatening injury indicating an act of violence shall report immediately to the sheriff’s department. Willful failure to report is punishable as a misdemeanor.
Fla. Stat. § 877.155 requires any person who treats, or is requested to treat, second or third degree burns affecting 10% or more of the body, to report such treatment to the sheriff’s department if they determine the burns were caused by a flammable substance and if they suspect the injury is a result of violence or other unlawful activity.
| Case Study 2. Rita |
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Rita is a 29 year old woman, who works as an administrative
assistant at her county's office building. She has an
8 year old son Toby, the product of a 10 year relationship
with her ex-boyfriend, Cliff. Cliff has problems with
cocaine and this is why Rita and Cliff are no longer
together; she had finally had enough of his abuse.
When they lived together Cliff would be little Rita
for the slightest "infraction"; he did this in the presence
of her family, the few friends they had left and out
in public. Cliff would criticize whatever she did; he
would call her "stupid" and "fat". Rita had learned
to keep her head down and not do anything to further
irritate Cliff. But when they were alone, that was the
worst time. Cliff wouldn't just embarrass her; he degraded
her, calling her filthy, terrible names in front of
their son, Toby. Cliff would beat Rita so badly that
she could not go to work, out of shame and pain. Toby
would often try to intervene when his father would beat
his mother, but Cliff would always scream at him to
stay out of it. Rita had felt like she was barely alive.
She just wanted Cliff to go away, but she had always
been too scared of him to take any action. She had hoped
he would find another girlfriend and leave. But she
couldn't wait; three days ago she took Toby and went
to live with her sister.
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Continue on to Identifying Abuse
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