Domestic violence laws in Delaware operate on two tracks at once: a civil track that lets victims obtain Protection From Abuse orders, custody relief, and financial recovery through Family Court, and a criminal track that lets prosecutors charge offenses ranging from misdemeanor assault to Class B felony strangulation. The state’s definition of abuse is deliberately broad, covering physical harm, threats, stalking, financial control, and emotional coercion between family members, partners, former partners, co-parents, and people in a dating relationship.
What Qualifies as Domestic Violence
Delaware defines “abuse” in Title 10, section 1041 of the Delaware Code, and that civil definition drives both protective orders and much of the criminal enforcement framework. It covers causing or attempting to cause physical injury or a sexual offense, placing someone in fear of physical harm, destroying or taking property (including harming a pet or service animal), engaging in alarming conduct likely to provoke fear or emotional distress, trespassing on property the victim occupies, child abuse, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, and coercion.1Justia. Delaware Code 10-1041 – Definitions
Two parts of the definition surprise people. Financial abuse is explicitly covered: maintaining overwhelming control over someone’s money, forbidding them from working or going to school without justification, or stealing their assets all qualify. And a catch-all provision reaches “any other conduct which a reasonable person under the circumstances would find threatening or harmful,” which gives courts room to address patterns of control that don’t fit a labeled category.1Justia. Delaware Code 10-1041 – Definitions
The conduct only counts as domestic violence when it happens between members of a protected class: family members, former spouses, people who live together as a couple (with or without children), people who live apart but share a child, or people in a current or former substantive dating relationship. Casual acquaintances and ordinary professional relationships fall outside the statute.1Justia. Delaware Code 10-1041 – Definitions
Protection From Abuse Orders
A Protection From Abuse (PFA) order is the civil tool most people reach for first. Petitions are filed in Family Court and can be brought by the victim, by the Division of Child Protective Services, or by the Division of Adult Protective Services on behalf of a vulnerable person.2FindLaw. Delaware Code 10-1042 – Commencement of Proceedings There is no filing fee.
Emergency and Final Orders
An emergency PFA can issue the same day on the petitioner’s sworn statement alone, without the respondent present or notified. A full hearing follows within 15 days, and the court can extend the emergency order up to 30 days to allow for service or continued protection.3Justia. Delaware Code 10-1043 – Ex Parte Orders and Emergency Hearings After a hearing where both sides present evidence, a final PFA can last up to two years, with longer extensions available in cases of severe abuse or ongoing risk.
What a PFA Can Do
Orders are tailored to the situation and can include any combination of the following:
- No contact, approach, or communication with the petitioner.
- Exclusive possession of the shared home, regardless of whose name is on the lease or deed.
- Temporary custody of shared children, with supervised visitation if appropriate.
- Child support, spousal support, and temporary housing costs.
- Compensation for medical and dental expenses, counseling, lost earnings, property repair or replacement, moving costs, and attorney’s fees.
- Surrender of all firearms and projectile weapons to police or a federally licensed firearms dealer in Delaware, with a prohibition on possession for the full term of the order.
- Counseling or treatment for either party.
If the Order Is Violated
Violating a PFA is criminal contempt. A first offense is a Class A misdemeanor. It escalates to a Class F felony if the violation caused physical injury or involved the use or threatened use of a deadly weapon or firearm. Aggravated violations and defendants with two or more prior PFA contempt convictions face a minimum 15-day jail sentence.5Justia. Delaware Code 11-1271A – Criminal Contempt of a Domestic Violence Protective Order Officers can arrest for a PFA violation without a warrant, even if the violation did not happen in their presence.6Justia. Delaware Code 11-1904 – Arrest Without Warrant
Lethal Violence Protective Orders
A separate order type targets firearms specifically. A Lethal Violence Protective Order (LVPO) prohibits a person from owning, purchasing, possessing, or accessing firearms or projectile weapons. It does not require a domestic relationship, and law enforcement or family members can petition. An emergency LVPO issues from the Justice of the Peace Court on a preponderance of the evidence that the respondent poses an immediate danger; a longer-term order from Superior Court requires clear and convincing evidence and can last up to five years.7Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 10 Chapter 77 – Lethal Violence Protective Order
Criminal Charges and Penalties
Prosecutors charge specific offenses based on what happened, and the same incident can produce multiple charges.
Assault
Third-degree assault, a Class A misdemeanor, applies when someone intentionally or recklessly causes physical injury, or causes injury through criminal negligence with a deadly weapon. The maximum is one year in jail and a fine up to $2,300.8Justia. Delaware Code 11-611 – Assault in the Third Degree9FindLaw. Delaware Code 11-4206 – Sentence for Misdemeanors First-degree assault, a Class B felony, covers intentionally causing serious physical injury with a deadly weapon, permanent disfigurement, or recklessly creating a substantial risk of death that results in serious injury. The sentencing range is 2 to 25 years.10Justia. Delaware Code 11-613 – Assault in the First Degree, Class B Felony11Justia. Delaware Code 11-4205 – Sentence for Felonies
Strangulation
Delaware prosecutes strangulation as a standalone felony separate from assault because of the lethality risk. Knowingly or intentionally impeding someone’s breathing or blood circulation by applying pressure to the neck or throat is a Class D felony, carrying up to eight years. It escalates to a Class B felony if the person used a weapon, caused serious physical injury, was subject to an existing protective order, or committed the offense against a pregnant person or child. The absence of visible injury does not defeat a conviction, and a repeat strangulation within five years carries a minimum one-year prison sentence.12Justia. Delaware Code 11-607 – Strangulation or Suffocation, Class B or D Felony
Stalking, Threats, and Coercion
Stalking requires a course of conduct of three or more separate incidents directed at a specific person that would cause a reasonable person to fear physical injury or significant mental distress. The conduct can include following, monitoring, surveilling, threatening, or interfering with daily life, employment, or medical care.13Justia. Delaware Code 11-1312 – Stalking Terroristic threatening covers threats to commit a crime likely to cause death or serious injury.14Justia. Delaware Code 11-621 – Terroristic Threatening Coercion, a Class A misdemeanor, applies when someone compels another person to act or refrain from acting through threats of physical harm, property damage, criminal accusation, exposure of secrets, or similar conduct calculated to cause material harm.15Justia. Delaware Code 11-791 – Acts Constituting Coercion, Class A Misdemeanor
How Cases Proceed
Prosecution is handled by the Department of Justice. Misdemeanors generally go through the Court of Common Pleas; felonies go to Superior Court. Bail conditions in domestic violence cases usually include no-contact orders and firearm restrictions. A victim who later wants charges dropped does not control the outcome: the state can still proceed on 911 recordings, officer observations, photographs of injuries, and other evidence.
Firearm Consequences
Domestic violence carries some of the farthest-reaching firearm consequences in Delaware law, and a misdemeanor conviction is enough to trigger them permanently.
Under state law, anyone convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence is prohibited from possessing or purchasing firearms. The qualifying offenses include assault, reckless endangering, terroristic threatening, unlawful sexual contact, and coercion when committed against a family member, former spouse, cohabitant, co-parent, or dating partner. Anyone subject to an active Family Court PFA is also barred from firearms for the duration of the order.16Justia. Delaware Code 11-1448 – Possession and Purchase of Deadly Weapons by Persons Prohibited
Federal law adds a second layer. Under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(9), anyone convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence is prohibited from shipping, transporting, possessing, or receiving any firearm or ammunition.17Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts The federal ban applies retroactively to convictions that predate the 1996 law, a state-court expungement does not restore federal firearm rights, and there is no exemption for military personnel or law enforcement officers.
Effect on Child Custody
A domestic violence conviction reshapes custody proceedings. Delaware law creates a rebuttable presumption that no person convicted of domestic violence should receive sole or joint custody of any child, and that no child should primarily reside with that person. Qualifying convictions include any felony, third-degree assault, reckless endangering, unlawful sexual contact, and criminal contempt of a protective order based on physical abuse or threats.18Justia. Delaware Code 13-705A – Rebuttable Presumption Against Custody or Residence of Minor Child to Perpetrator of Domestic Violence
“Rebuttable” means the convicted parent carries the burden of overcoming the presumption. In practice, that burden is hard to meet when the abuse was recent or severe. For noncitizens, a conviction can also trigger immigration consequences, including deportation.
Housing Protections
Losing housing is one of the most immediate dangers for someone leaving an abuser. A PFA order can grant the victim exclusive possession of the shared home regardless of whose name is on the lease or title.4Justia. Delaware Code 10-1045 – Relief Available, Duration of Orders, Modification, and Termination
Federal law backs that up for renters. Under the Violence Against Women Act, survivors with a Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher can move with continued rental assistance and can request an emergency transfer from their housing provider for safety reasons. VAWA protections also apply to other federally subsidized housing programs, and a landlord cannot evict a tenant solely because the tenant is a domestic violence victim.19HUD.gov. Violence Against Women Act (VAWA)
Financial Recovery for Victims
Compensation can come from three places. The PFA itself can order the respondent to pay for medical and dental expenses, counseling, lost earnings, property repair or replacement, moving costs, and attorney’s fees.4Justia. Delaware Code 10-1045 – Relief Available, Duration of Orders, Modification, and Termination
A separate civil lawsuit against the abuser for intentional torts like assault and battery uses a lower burden of proof than a criminal case (preponderance of the evidence rather than beyond a reasonable doubt), so a victim can sometimes win a civil judgment even when criminal charges are dropped or produce an acquittal. Civil damages can cover medical bills, lost income, therapy costs, property damage, and pain and suffering, with punitive damages available in cases of particularly egregious conduct.
Delaware’s Victims’ Compensation Assistance Program (VCAP) covers out-of-pocket expenses that result directly from a crime, including medical and dental bills, mental health counseling, and moving costs up to $1,000. No single award exceeds $25,000. A criminal conviction is not required, but the crime generally must have been reported to law enforcement.20Delaware Department of Justice. Compensation Program21Delaware Code Online. Delaware Code Title 11 Chapter 90 – Compensation for Innocent Victims of Crime
Where to Get Help
Anyone in immediate danger should call 911. For confidential support around the clock, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233. Several Delaware organizations provide direct assistance:
- The Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence (DCADV) coordinates crisis intervention, advocacy, and legal referrals statewide and operates a 24/7 hotline for safety planning.
- Community Legal Aid Society, Inc. (CLASI) provides free legal help for victims seeking protective orders and navigating court.
- Emergency shelter programs, including the SAFE Program, offer immediate housing for people fleeing abuse along with case management for longer-term stability.
- Agencies such as People’s Place provide trauma-informed therapy for survivors and their children.