• Kansas domestic violence victims can obtain protective orders from a district court.US Supreme Court image by dwight9592 from Fotolia.com
  
  Kansas lawmakers heard the call to put more muscle into domestic violence laws. The Legislature passed a law in 2010 that will document all crimes that have a domestic violence element. The designation will help courts and law enforcement officials track offenders and order needed treatment. Kansas officials have been addressing the problem of domestic violence for decades. Police agencies have been required to make written reports in all domestic violence incidents since 1992. Information gleaned from those reports go into a database compiled by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. The KBI reports that domestic violence was responsible for 19 deaths in 2008 in the "Sunflower State."
  
  

Domestic Violence Definitions

• The Kansas Protection from Abuse Act defines abuse as one or more criminal acts between "intimate partners or household members." The criminal acts include causing injury or causing another to fear for their safety. Additional laws address acts with a minor under the age of 16 who is not married to the offender. Those crimes include sex or lewd fondling.
  
  

Stalking

• The likelihood that an injury will occur rises as stalking behavior escalates, according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. Stalking, as defined by the Kansas Code, is the intentional targeting of another to cause her to fear for her safety or the safety of a family member. Stalking can include hang-up phone calls or actual threats.
  
  

Preventing Stalking

• Courts may order a protective order for victims under the Protection from Stalking Act. The 2002 law protects the victim from stalking behavior whether it is through physical content, telephoning or communicating in any manner with the victim. The protective order must be filed in the district court in the county where the stalking occurred, according to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. A hearing must be held within 20 days. The court may approve a final order that is in effect for up to a year.
  
  

Domestic Battery

• Domestic battery is "intentionally causing physical contact with a family or household member by a family or household member" in a rude or insulting manner. The charge also encompasses physical contact in anger.
  
  

Court Orders

• Courts may order the defendant to cease abusing or molesting a family or household member. The order may also be taken out against a person in a dating relationship with the abuser. The order may mandate that the defendant find alternate housing to the victim or grant possession of the home to the victim. The defendant is prohibited from canceling utility services to the home. Temporary child custody may also be awarded to the domestic violence victim.
  
  

Evidence Collection Kit

• Domestic violence victims of sexual assault can request that a hospital or medical facility collect evidence before reporting the crime to the police. Legislators designed the law to give the victim time to set up a needed support system before reporting the crime.