October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month, a time to recognize survivors and confront a problem that touches families in every community. For anyone living with abuse, it is also a reminder that how you leave can affect whether you stay safe.

On Friday, October 9, Stevens Family Law attorney Krystal Watson presented "Orders of Protection Involving Military Families: Victims, Respondents, and Service-Related Consequences" at a South Carolina Bar continuing legal education program, alongside Patricia Ravenhorst, General Counsel of the South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (SCCADVASA).

Where South Carolina Stands

South Carolina women are killed by men at a rate well above the national average. According to the Violence Policy Center's newest report, When Men Murder Women: An Analysis of 2024 Homicide Data, released in September 2026, 62 South Carolina women were killed by men in 2024. The state's rate rose to 2.2 per 100,000, up from 1.8 in 2023, against a national rate of 1.4.

More than 96 percent of South Carolina victims knew the men who killed them. Nearly 76 percent were killed with a firearm, most often a handgun. Black women in South Carolina were killed at a rate of 3.2 per 100,000, more than one and a half times the rate for white women.

The Violence Policy Center has not published a new state-by-state ranking since 2020, according to The Post and Courier. But the long-term pattern is clear: from 1996 to 2020, South Carolina ranked among the 10 worst states in the nation for the rate of women killed by men in 23 of 25 years.

The Most Dangerous Time Is When a Victim Leaves

"When a person decides to leave an abusive relationship, that is when they are at the highest risk of being killed." — Krystal Watson, at the October 9 SC Bar CLE

The research backs this up. In a landmark multi-city study led by Jacquelyn Campbell, 44 percent of women killed by an intimate partner had separated or were in the process of leaving. When the abuser was also highly controlling, separation increased the risk of being killed about ninefold.

That means the moment you file for divorce, move out, or ask for an Order of Protection may be the most dangerous point in the whole case. The steps that protect you in the long run can raise the risk in the short run, and planning for that is part of doing this right.

Intimate Partner Violence Affects Women and Men

About 2 in 5 women (41 percent) and 1 in 4 men (26 percent) in the United States have experienced sexual violence, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner and reported an impact such as fear or injury. That figure comes from the CDC's National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey: 2016/2017 Report on Intimate Partner Violence (2022).

The same report estimates that more than 61 million women and 53 million men have experienced psychological aggression by an intimate partner. Coercive control often shows up in Family Court long before physical violence does.

Orders of Protection in South Carolina: The Basics

An Order of Protection is a civil court order that protects a victim of domestic abuse from a household member. It comes from South Carolina's Protection from Domestic Abuse Act, Title 20, Chapter 4 of the Code.

Who qualifies. A "household member" includes a spouse, a former spouse, people who have a child in common, and people who live together or have lived together. The South Carolina Supreme Court held in Doe v. State, 421 S.C. 490, 808 S.E.2d 807 (2017), that same-sex couples are protected.

Where to file. The Family Court hears these cases. When Family Court is closed, a petition may be filed with a magistrate, who can grant only limited, temporary protection until the Family Court acts.

Timing. If you show an immediate and present danger of bodily injury, the court may hold an emergency hearing within 24 hours after the other person is served. Otherwise, the hearing must be held within 15 days of filing, and the other person must be served at least five days before it.

What it covers. After a hearing, the order can address temporary custody, visitation, support, and possession of the home. It lasts from six months to one year and can be extended for good cause.

Enforcement. Violating an order is a crime punishable by 30 days in jail or a $200 fine. It can also be punished as contempt of court, with up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $1,500.

Firearms. If the judge finds physical harm, bodily injury, or assault, the judge can also order that the other person may not have firearms or ammunition.

A Family Court Order of Protection issues only after the other person has been served and had a chance to be heard. That gap, between filing and the hearing, is why safety planning matters so much.

Military Families Face Added Barriers

In fiscal year 2024, the Department of Defense's Family Advocacy Program received 14,799 reports of domestic abuse. Forty-five percent of the victims were civilians, many of them the spouses and partners of service members.

A victim in a military family can seek two different kinds of protection:

In Krystal's practice, military families often turn to a civilian Order of Protection rather than an MPO. Victims report fearing what reporting will do to the service member's career and the family's income. But a civilian order does not guarantee the command stays out of it, and a victim can hold both orders at the same time. Those trade-offs are worth talking through with a lawyer before anything is filed. The BWJP toolkit for military-connected survivors compares the two orders in detail.

What Legal Safety Planning Looks Like

Because leaving is the most dangerous moment, legal strategy and safety planning have to go together. It works best as a collaboration between you, your attorney, and a trained victim advocate. A good plan covers:

• Telling your lawyer about the abuse. Many people never volunteer it, so a careful lawyer will ask, and keep asking.
• Timing. When will the other person learn about the divorce, custody case, or Order of Protection petition? Where will you be when they are served?
• The gap. Plan for the days between filing and the hearing, and know when to ask for an emergency hearing.
• Firearms. Access to a gun is among the strongest predictors of intimate partner homicide. Tell your lawyer whether the other person has weapons, so a firearms prohibition can be requested.
• An advocate. Advocates provide shelter, counseling, and safety planning that lawyers cannot.
• Your new contact information. Your new address, phone number, and workplace should stay out of filings and correspondence whenever possible. See what stays private in a South Carolina Family Court case.
• For military families, the command question: what each order and each reporting option will mean for the service member's career.

Where to Find Help

If you are in danger, please do not work through this alone. If you are in immediate danger, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is available 24 hours a day at 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788. The South Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault lists domestic violence agencies serving every county in the state, and Military OneSource explains reporting options and connects service members and spouses with Family Advocacy Program victim advocates.

Stevens Family Law, LLC is devoted exclusively to family law, and our attorneys handle Orders of Protection, divorce, and custody cases involving domestic violence in Family Courts across South Carolina. When safety is part of the case, the order of the steps matters as much as the steps. You can reach us at (864) 598-9172 or through our consultation form.

Stevens Family Law, LLC represents clients in family court matters across South Carolina, including Orders of Protection, divorce, and custody cases involving domestic violence. To schedule a consultation, contact us at (864) 598-9172 or through our consultation form.

This article is general information, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. The statistics cited come from the reports named and are current as of their publication dates.