Experts will be part of a workshop this week for people who want to find out more about protection orders.

Cristen Suess, an associate attorney at Wakefield Quin, will lead the event.

Panellists will include, Maxanne Anderson, a magistrate, as well as detectives Sharnita Tankard and Patrice Madeiros of the Bermuda Police Service’s vulnerable persons unit.

The free “lunch and learn” session, organised by the Women’s Resource Centre, will run from noon to 1.30pm on Thursday.

Elaine Butterfield, the WRC executive director, said: “While we know protection orders are often used in instances of domestic violence against intimate partners, the Domestic Violence Act refers to domestic violence in whatever form.

“That includes anyone cohabitating which can include siblings, children, parents with adult children, the elderly, and so on.”

She said that the session, at the WRC’s base on the second floor of Sofia House on Church Street, is for anyone who wants to know more about who is eligible for a protection order and in what circumstances.

The workshop is expected to cover how to apply for a protection order, how long they last and the cost.

The police service website explained that protection orders are issued after an application made in court.

It added that under the Domestic Violence (Protection Orders) Act 1997, “DVPOs are issued where there have been demonstrated instances of, or the threat of, violence or abuse between parties who are in a ’domestic relationship’.”

The BPS website said that protection orders can also be made under the Stalking Act 1997, when “there does not need to be an established relationship, the subject need only be conducting behaviour that causes or is intended to cause fear in another person".

It added: “Application is not a simple process and should be done with the assistance of a lawyer or other agencies experienced in protection orders.”

*To register for the workshop, e-mail wrc@wrcbermuda.com or call 295-3882.