My Ex Will Not Stop Texting Me - What Are My Legal Rights?

Is Your Ex Harassing You Through Text?

For many people new forms of technology, such as texting or social media, provide great ways to keep in touch or communicate quickly. However, for people in bad relationships, they open up new avenues for harassment. In those cases, the harasser either cannot understand that the victim does not want to be contacted, or reaches out in hopes of making the victim’s life miserable.

Can You Get a Restraining Order for Text Harassment?

Fortunately, the legal system offers fairly simple solutions that can help stop things like texting, emailing, calling, visiting, contacting through social media sites, or other forms of harassment. In Florida, if you are being harassed by a former spouse, you can seek something called an injunction for protection against domestic violence, which is also called a restraining order or an injunction.

This is a court order that orders the abuser to stop taking certain actions, such as contacting you or coming near you. These injunctions are available to people who are single or are divorcing and they are the victims of domestic violence, or to people who believe that they are in immediate danger of becoming victims of domestic violence.

You may already have an injunction, but it may not cover the type of behavior your spouse is exhibiting. In that case, you can ask the court for a modification of the injunction to include a prohibition against texting or whatever behavior he or she is exhibiting. After you get the modified order, if he or she violates it, your former spouse has violated the law.

If your former spouse is not violent, has never displayed violent tendencies, and is not likely to abuse you, you may not qualify for an injunction for protection against domestic violence. However, there are other steps you can take. Constant texting could be considered as harassment and you may be able to press charges. You can also contact your cell provider to see if the messages can be blocked. A letter from an attorney may help stop the texting as well.

Related Reading: Divorce