A TAUNTON Barrister is helping victims of domestic abuse in the town obtain emergency injunctions against their abusers, with court orders often issued the same day.

Dr Ryan Connor OBE, 50, a barrister specialising in Domestic Abuse cases within the Civil Court System, launched ALIVE! NATIONWIDE last week.

The Taunton-based service is free and confidential and helps anyone who is a victim or survivor of domestic abuse to obtain a Non-molestation Order, also known as an Injunction, from Taunton County Court.

Dr Connor said: "The injunction is a court order that prevents the abuser from using and threatening violence against the victim. It prevents them from instructing other people to use or threaten violence or to intimidate.

"Coercive control is a new thing that has been added to the order, it's more the psychological impact. Quite a few people get worn down by their partner saying 'You're hopeless, useless, it's your fault' etc. So we can have something put in place to stop that."

He added: "If there's a property involved, we can also get a zoning order, so they're not allowed to return to the property and they're not allowed to come within, for example, 500 meters of the property.

"All of these orders are obtainable in County Court, so they're civil orders rather than a criminal order. Providing the abuser obeys the orders, they're not in any trouble and don't get a criminal record."

The orders are called "without notice applications", this means the abuser "doesn't know anything about the order" before it is put in place.

Dr Connor added: "The whole idea of that is, if the abuser were to be made aware that someone would go to court, they could use or threaten violence to stop them going.

"These are done with no notice at all given to the abuser, which makes life a lot easier and a lot less stressful for the victim to go to court in the first place.

"It's much easier knowing that they're going to have someone with them in the room to do the talking and the representation.

"The abuser won't be there. They haven't got to face their abuser face to face. It's a very positive order to get and they are generally very effective."

If an injunction is breached, the perpetrator "will be arrested straight away", Dr Connor said, "Avon and Somerset police are very proactive on domestic abuse. They will take action."

He added: "A lot of people say, well, you know, this order is all very well and good, but my boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, won't obey it.

"But you'll find that even the most abusive of people, once served with a court order that says you go to prison if you disobey this, really do stand up and take notice of it. It really is very, very effective."

The notice of a court order is served to the abuser by a team of process servers within ALIVE! NATIONWIDE. They wear body cameras and have "all the facilities to track and trace people, even if people are trying to evade being served or hiding." 

Dr Ryan Connor OBE set up ALIVE! NATIONWIDE after recovering from two years spent in hospital with sepsis. He became a barrister in 2007, has a Doctorate in Law, and worked as a ministerial advisor at 10 Downing Street.

The barrister was awarded an OBE in 2012 by the Queen for his charity work helping victims of domestic abuse. He was also presented with a National Hero's Award by the Attorney-General in 2012.

ALIVE! NATIONWIDE plans to start helping more victims of domestic abuse across Avon and Somerset over the next year. It currently has three full-time employees and around 20 volunteers.

The Freephone Number for ALIVE! NATIONWIDE (South West Division) is 03333 200433. It is open to "absolutely anybody" needing free and confidential legal advice.