Definitions

FAMILY VIOLENCE
Family Violence means:

(5) an act by a member of a family or household against another member of the family or household that is intended to result in physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault or that is a threat that reasonable places the member in fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault, but does not include defensive measures to protect oneself;
(6) abuse, as that term is defined by Sections 261.001(1) (C) (E) and (G) by a member of a family or household toward a child of the family or household; or
(7) dating violence, as that term is defined by Section 71.0021.

FAMILY
“Family” includes individuals related by consanguinity or affinity, as determined under Sections 573.022 and 573.024, Government Code, individuals who are former spouses of each other, individuals who are the parents of the same child, without regard to marriage, and a foster child and foster parent, without regard to whether those individuals reside together.

HOUSEHOLD
“Household” means a unit composed of persons living together in the same dwelling, without regard to whether they are related to each other.
“Member of Household” includes a person who previously lived in a household.

DATING VIOLENCE

  1. “Dating Violence” means an act by an individual that is against another individual with whom that person has or has had a dating relationship and that is intended to result in physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault or that is a threat that reasonably places the individual in fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or sexual assault, but does not include defensive measures to protect oneself.
  2. For the purposes of this title, “dating relationship” means a relationship between individuals who have or have had a continuing relationship of a romantic or intimate nature. The existence of such a relationship be determined based on consideration of:
    1. length of the relationship;
    2. the nature of the relationship; and
    3. the frequency and type of interaction between the persons involved in the relationship.
  3. A casual acquaintanceship or ordinary fraternization in a business or social context does not constitute a “dating relationship” under Subsection (b).