I am a divorce and family lawyer. So I know that there are laws on the books in my jurisdiction (Utah) and in other jurisdictions throughout the U.S. that make false reports of domestic violence to law enforcement and to courts illegal. I have never personally witnessed any such law enforced against one who makes a false report. You do occasionally read about such prosecutions elsewhere (I recall reading recently about false accusations of rape made by a woman in New Jersey and by another woman in England resulting in the prosecution and incarceration of the false accusers), but it never seems to be in your own backyard.
So, to answer your question as to whether there are legal safeguards to prevent abuse of domestic violence restraining orders, the answer is on paper, yes, but in practice, virtually none.
Why? One argument is that if we prosecute false reporters of domestic violence, that will have a chilling effect on reporting domestic violence because victims may fear that they would be doubly victimized; first abused, and then second, prosecuted and convicted and potentially even incarcerated.
Some make the ridiculous argument that it is better to err on the side of caution when confronted with an accusation of abuse, a kind of “shoot first and ask questions later” mentality.
But if false reports are justified on those bases, then false reporting can and will occur with impunity. Which is precisely what we see happening now. It is far too easy to ruin a man’s life with a false report of abuse.
If you wouldn’t want it to happen to you, you can’t support the creation of laws and the enforcement (or in this case the non-enforcement) of laws in such a way that would enable it to happen to anyone.
Utah Family Law, LC | divorceutah.com | 801-466-9277