We have written several articles about Domestic Violence in Ohio. In our most recent article, we mentioned how Division (A)(1) of Section 3113.31 of the Ohio Revised Code (ORC) defines “Domestic Violence” as
(a) The occurrence of one or more of the following acts against a family or household member:
(i) Attempting to cause or recklessly causing bodily injury;
(ii) Placing another person by the threat of force in fear of imminent serious physical harm or committing a violation of section 2903.211 or 2911.211 of the Revised Code;
(iii) Committing any act with respect to a child that would result in the child being an abused child, as defined in section 2151.031 of the Revised Code;
(iv) Committing a sexually oriented offense.
(b) The occurrence of one or more of the acts identified in divisions (A)(1)(a)(i) to (iv) of this section against a person with whom the respondent is or was in a dating relationship.
Victims of Domestic Violence
For a long time across the U.S., many people understood Domestic Violence to be an act of violence committed against a family member. The term “family or household member” did appear in the definition from 2016. But over the years there arose some confusion as to when an act was simply an offense of violence and when the act qualified as DV.
In 2022, federal law changed to close the “boyfriend loophole.” What does that mean? Well, the term “family or household member,” does not seem to include people in a dating relationship. However, violent crimes between boyfriends and girlfriends seem like they should be DV in some cases. So the federal government ended up adding the language about “dating relationship.” In March of 2023, The ORC followed suit. Of course, federal law already applies to Ohio as it does to every other state. Nevertheless, the Ohio legislature must have seen the benefit of clarifying the laws. Therefore they added division (b) to this section.
Menacing and Aggravated Trespass
Like many sections of the ORC, this section references other sections. This may make the laws hard to understand if you don’t have time to follow all of the likes. Division (a)(ii) of the above section references the sections on Menacing and Aggravated Trespass. That means that committing one of those two acts can result in a DV charge if the victim qualifies. This division also talks about making threats against a family member, which is similar to Menacing.
Other forms of DV
The first and last parts of the definition may be the most obvious. First the law talks about attempting or recklessly causing bodily injury. This is probably what most people think of when they hear “Domestic Violence.” The last part, “sexually oriented offense,” is also self-explanatory. Devision (A)(1)(a)(iii) is essentially talking about child abuse.
Conclusion
While Domestic Violence may be a familiar term to most people, many do not know everything that could fall under the DV umbrella. If you or someone you know is facing charges of Domestic Violence in Ohio, feel free to contact Dearie, Fischer & Martinson.
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