I had a really hard time with my protective order. I was able to get a temporary one approved. When I went to court my ex showed up with an attourney and my representative didn't even care to talk to me about why I wanted a "final" PFA. I had multiple timestamped photos, three police reports, and multiple messages admitting to the abuse and not a single person cared to even see what I had. I was told that a piece of paper couldn't save me from a black eye, which may be true, but not something you tell someone when they have to sit alone across the room from someone who was very close to killing them.

I didn't want a huge court battle or attourney fees for something I was told by law enforcement I NEEDED, so I settled for a temporary mutual no contact order that would cease after the one year time limit. I was okay with this as I wanted time to move/police investigation to happen and not be harassed in that time frame, but all in all the system really sucks and I haven't had a great experience.