Recent trends indicate that Pennsylvania is the beneficiary of increasing international migration. With increased migration comes more complex family law issues. These issues are compounded in cases of cross-border family violence. Consider, for example, a case of domestic violence where the parties are on opposite sides of an international border, or opposite sides of the globe. Such cases may involve considering an array of jurisdictional issues and unique remedies. However, one should not overlook an obvious source of remedies: Pennsylvania’s Protection From Abuse Act (PFA Act).
Attorneys and legal advocates should keep an open mind when speaking with such victims. One cannot assume that, because the would-be defendant is abroad, the victim is safe, or that a Pennsylvania court could not exercise jurisdiction over the abuser. Often, thorough interviewing of the victim reveals just the opposite. Commonly, the parties have married in Philadelphia, lived and/or worked here for a time, and visited family or friends here. Moreover, often the abuser continues his or her abuse from abroad: intimidating and stalking the victim, and threatening to return to Pennsylvania to further abuse the victim, which is a real possibility.
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