Michigan Laws on Domestic Violence & Children
- Domestic violence can have an emotional effect on a child.child and pineapple image by Renata Osinska from Fotolia.com
Children who are exposed to violence between their parents are at a higher risk of being injured or killed, research has shown. L.G. Mills in 2000 wrote that "domestic violence has been found to be the single most common precursor to child death in the United States." Michigan police investigated 73,927 incidences of domestic violence in 2007. Based on the high number of domestic violence cases and studies such as Mills', Michigan lawmakers have created laws addressing domestic violence and children. - Domestic violence is the intentional physical or mental injury to a family member by another member of the family or household. The injury is not considered domestic violence if it is caused in self-defense. Other Michigan domestic violation categories are terrorizing, intimidation and forcing another family member to have sex.
- Michigan code defines family member as a spouse or former spouse, individual with whom the individual resides or formerly resided, individual in a dating relationship or an individual who has a child with another.
- Emergency shelters must be provided to domestic violence victims. Services provided may include counseling for victims and their children, housing and financial assistance, health care services and child-care assistance.
- In considering an arrest, police officers must take into account the nature and degree of injury, previous domestic violence and whether the victim or other members of the household, including children, remain in danger.
- A parent or guardian cannot hide a child from the other parent or another who has legal custody. Michigan law does not consider a child staying in a domestic violence shelter with the custodial parent as being concealed.
- The police chief of every Michigan city, village or township, and the sheriff of each county, must report every domestic violence incident. The report must include assaults that involve an adult and child and the disposition of each case.
