Civil No Contact Orders 

In 2003 our legislature created the “No Contact Order” to help protect victims of sexual assault who knew the perpetrator, but did not have a relationship with the assaulter.  Attorneys in our Sexual Assault Project use the Civil No Contact Order (CNCO) as a remedy – which allows a court to keep the perpetrator away from the victim.  In all of our cases, the police and state’s attorneys have declined to press charges against the perpetrator.  The issue before the court is solely the safety of the victim.  The complications in these cases are similar to domestic violence cases: credibility, the perpetrator’s right to move freely in the community, and the perpetrator’s reputation.  The need for these orders arises from circumstances familiar from our work in domestic violence, which include the criminal justice system’s failure to adequately respond to sexual assault.  

We are the first and only free legal services agency in Cook County to practice this remedy for victims of sexual assault.