Data suggests people in Hamilton County are finding fewer barriers to gaining civil protection orders.
The orders, issued by Hamilton County Courts, are civil legal documents requiring a person to abstain from contacting or being near someone who has accused them of abuse or stalking. Civil protective orders aren't criminal matters, but violation can lead to criminal charges.
Hamilton County Domestic Relations Judge Anne Flottman told Cincinnati City Council's Youth and Human Services Committee Oct. 20 that fear, administrative hurdles and intimidation from a stalker or abuser can make it difficult for a person to finish the process of gaining a protective order. But some changes have helped.
In 2023, the Hamilton County Sheriff's Office convened a task force that now has more than 40 participants, including a number of law enforcement agencies such as the Cincinnati Police Department, the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts, the Hamilton County Prosecutor's Office, the YWCA and others. Task force members meet bi-weekly to discuss how to better connect survivors with housing, support during the court hearing process and more.
In addition, Flottman says the court itself has made some changes. In the past, magistrates didn't always know to consider important factors specific to domestic violence (DV) situations.
"The magistrate would say, 'well why didn't you just leave? Why did you go back? Why didn't you call the police,' " Flottman said.
Now, however, the court is more intentional about those cases.
"A dedicated DV team of four magistrates are the only ones allowed to hear these," she said. "They received special training. They attend the task force meetings — we have the big county task force, and then my little team."
Data suggests the approach might be working. In 2023, the year the changes started, about 80% of the 1,306 protective order applications filed in the county were declined. Court officials and survivor advocates say that's mostly because applicants were afraid to continue the process and show up to court hearings; were financially dependent on their abusers; or other factors related to abuse and stalking.
In 2025, about 68% of the 1,434 applications county residents filed were denied. Last month, Flottman said, that was down to 59%.
"Through all of these efforts, we've dropped our dismissal rates," she said.
The improvements come as domestic violence, strangulation and stalking rates are increasing in Cincinnati, according to Cincinnati police data. Department crime statistics show more than 1,600 domestic violence incidents through August of this year. That's 200 more than the same time frame last year, and 300 more than 2024.
The rise in strangulation is especially troubling, experts say, because strangulation in a domestic situation suggests a much greater risk an abuser will murder their partner. Locally, some of the rise in the reported number of strangulations could come from the fact they've been tracked more specifically by law enforcement over the past few years, however.
Cincinnati isn't the only place facing rising domestic violence. Last year, the Ohio Domestic Violence Network reported a 37% year-over-year increase in domestic violence deaths.
You can find more information about filing a civil protection order at the court's website, or file preliminary paperwork online via the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts.
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