Do Michigan's Domestic Violence Laws Apply the Same to Men, Women and Same-Sex Couples?

On their wording, yes. Michigan's domestic assault and personal protection order statutes are written in terms of "an individual" and a list of relationships, not in terms of men and women. The domestic assault statute applies to "an individual who assaults or assaults and batters the individual's spouse or former spouse, an individual with whom the individual has or has had a dating relationship, an individual with whom the individual has had a child in common, or a resident or former resident of the individual's household."^[1] The personal protection order (PPO) statute likewise lets "an individual" petition for an order.^[3]

If you are in danger, call 911. Michigan's VOICES4 Hotline, 855-864-2374 by call or text, is for anyone in Michigan who has experienced domestic violence, and the National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233.^[5][6][7]

What the criminal statute says

Whether an assault is charged as a domestic assault depends on the relationship between the two people. There are four categories: a spouse or former spouse, a person with whom the accused has or has had a dating relationship, a person with whom the accused has had a child in common, and a resident or former resident of the accused's household.^[1] The sentence that creates the offense does not use the words husband, wife, man or woman.

• Dating relationship. The statute defines it as "frequent, intimate associations primarily characterized by the expectation of affectional involvement," and excludes a casual relationship or ordinary fraternization between two individuals in a business or social context.^[2]
• Past relationships. The Court of Appeals has summarized the statute as covering people who have ever been married to each other, have ever resided together, had a child in common, or have ever had a dating relationship.^[8]
• Household members. The household category applies "regardless of the victim's relationship with the offender"; the Court of Appeals applied it to a 16-year-old daughter accused of assaulting her mother.^[9]

The same four-relationship test is used in the aggravated domestic assault statute, the warrantless arrest statute and the deferral statute, and, since February 13, 2024, in domestic versions of stalking and several other offenses.^[10] The penalty provision is written the same way, for "an individual"; a first offense is a misdemeanor punishable by up to 93 days in jail, a fine of up to $500, or both.^[1] The categories are explained in Who is covered: the domestic relationship and Domestic assault under MCL 750.81.

Same-sex couples

Because the statute works by relationship, on its wording it applies the same way whether the two people are of the same sex or of different sexes. By the statute's own terms, a spouse or former spouse, a person in a current or former dating relationship, and a resident or former resident of the household come within the categories without any reference to the sex of either person.^[1] How the "child in common" category applies to same-sex parents is not addressed in the sources used for this guide. The definition of a dating relationship speaks of "affectional involvement" and says nothing about the sex of the people involved.^[2] What makes a relationship a "dating relationship" is covered in The dating relationship definition.

The household category also means that a romantic relationship is not needed at all. By its terms it reaches anyone who lives or has lived in the same household, which is how relatives and people who share a home come within the statute.^[9]

Not every related statute has been rewritten in neutral terms. The spousal privilege statute still says that "a husband shall not be examined as a witness for or against his wife without his consent or a wife for or against her husband without her consent."^[11] How that older wording is applied to same-sex spouses is not addressed in the sources used for this guide. The privilege itself is explained in Spousal privilege.

Protection orders

The PPO statute follows the same pattern. Under MCL 600.2950(1), "an individual may petition the family division of circuit court to enter a personal protection order to restrain or enjoin a spouse, a former spouse, an individual with whom he or she has had a child in common, an individual with whom he or she has or has had a dating relationship, or an individual residing or having resided in the same household as the petitioner."^[3]

The test does not change with the petitioner. The court must issue a domestic relationship PPO if it determines that there is reasonable cause to believe the respondent may commit one of the acts the statute lists.^[12] A court may not refuse a PPO solely because there is no police report, medical report or physical sign of abuse.^[13]

When each person accuses the other, the court does not issue one order that binds both. A court may not issue a mutual PPO, and separate orders against each party are prohibited unless both parties have properly petitioned the court.^[14] See How to get a PPO in Michigan and Types of PPOs.

The state's definition of domestic violence

Michigan's Domestic Violence Prevention and Treatment Act defines domestic violence as any of four kinds of acts "by an individual" that is not an act of self-defense, directed at a "family or household member."^[15] That term includes a spouse or former spouse, an individual with whom the person resides or has resided, an individual with whom the person has or has had a dating relationship, an individual with whom the person is or has engaged in a sexual relationship, an individual related or formerly related by marriage, and an individual with whom the person has a child in common.^[16] This definition is broader than the list in the criminal statute, and it too is written without reference to gender. See What is domestic violence under Michigan law?

What police are told to do

Michigan law requires each police agency to have a written domestic violence response policy, and the statute sets out what those policies say.^[17] In most circumstances an officer should arrest "an individual" when there is probable cause to believe the individual is committing or has committed domestic violence and the actions constitute a crime.^[18] An officer's decision whether to arrest should not be based solely on the relationship of the individuals involved, and a decision not to arrest should not be based solely on the absence of visible injury.^[19]

When both people appear to have committed crimes against each other, the statute directs the officer to consider the intent to protect victims of domestic violence, the degree of injury inflicted, the extent to which the individuals have been put in fear of physical injury, and any history of domestic violence between them. The officer should not arrest an individual the officer reasonably believes was acting in lawful self-defense or in lawful defense of another.^[20] None of those factors is the sex of either person. More on this is in Dual arrest and "who started it" and Self-defense law.

What the data show

The law is neutral; the recorded numbers are not evenly split. Both things are true at once.

Measure	Female	Male
Victims recorded by Michigan State Police, 2025 (73,732 total, 108 of unknown sex)	50,819 (69.0%)	22,805 (31.0%)[4]
Offenders recorded by Michigan State Police, 2021 through 2025 (353,905 total)	105,546 (29.8%)	248,269 (70.2%)[21]
CDC: lifetime contact sexual violence, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner, United States	More than 1 in 3 women	More than 1 in 6 men[22]
CDC: lifetime physical violence by an intimate partner, United States	22.5%	13.7%[22]

The State Police figures are police incident records as read from the Crime in Michigan dashboard on 4 October 2026. They cover family and household relationships such as parent, child and sibling as well as spouses and dating partners, so they are not a count of intimate partner violence.^[23] The CDC also reports that over half of female homicide victims are killed by a current or former male intimate partner.^[22] The full set of figures, with what each one measures, is in Michigan domestic violence statistics.

In court, the same rules on both sides

• Rights of the person harmed. In the felony article of the Crime Victim's Rights Act, a victim is "an individual who suffers direct or threatened physical, financial, or emotional harm as a result of the commission of a crime."^[24] The privilege for communications with a domestic violence counselor protects "a person who was or who alleges to have been the subject of" domestic violence.^[25][26]
• Rights of the person accused. Anyone charged with a crime who faces possible jail or prison is entitled to an attorney, and one must be appointed for a person who cannot afford one.^[27] The defenses are the same for every defendant; see Defenses to domestic violence charges.
• When both people are charged. An individual who is charged with a crime arising out of the same transaction as the charge against the defendant is not eligible to exercise the rights given to victims under the felony article.^[24]

Where wording and services are still gendered

Michigan's Batterer Intervention Standards, written in June 1998, are an example.^[28] Their completion criteria refer to the participant as "he," and they state that groups for batterers should not include women as participants.^[29][30] A woman ordered into a program should ask the court or probation officer which local program it accepts. The standards are covered in Batterer intervention programs.

An agency's name does not always describe everyone it serves. Every Woman's Place in Muskegon, for example, describes its mission as providing shelter, counseling and advocacy "for those affected by" domestic violence, sexual assault and sex trafficking.^[31] A call to the agency or to a hotline is the way to find out what a particular program offers to a particular caller.

Verified resources for men and LGBTQ+ survivors

This guide lists only resources it could confirm from the organization's own website on 4 October 2026.

• Michigan VOICES4 Hotline. Call or text 855-864-2374. The hotline is for anyone in Michigan who has experienced domestic violence, sexual assault or human trafficking at any point in their lifetime.^[5][6]
• National Domestic Violence Hotline. Call 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788.^[7] The Hotline states that domestic violence can affect anyone, including men, and that its advocates are trained to support all people in a wide variety of situations, including those in underserved populations.^[32][33]
• Equality Michigan. Provides victim services for LGBTQ+ people throughout the state, including survivors of domestic violence; 313-537-7000.^[34]
• RAVE (Ionia and Montcalm counties). The 24-hour crisis line is 1-800-720-7233, and the agency states that it welcomes and supports all survivors regardless of gender identity or expression, sexual orientation and other characteristics.^[35][36]

County-by-county agencies are in Where to get help. People who have been accused will find a separate list in Resources for people accused.

What people get wrong

• "Only men are charged with domestic violence." The statute applies to "an individual," and the State Police recorded 105,546 female offenders in domestic violence incidents from 2021 through 2025.^[1][21]
• "A man cannot get a PPO against a woman." The statute lets "an individual" petition.^[3]
• "It is only domestic if the couple is married or of opposite sexes." Dating relationships, former relationships, people who have had a child in common and household members are all covered, and none of the categories mentions sex.^[1][8]
• "When two people fight, the police arrest the man." The statute tells officers to weigh injury, fear and history, and not to arrest a person who acted in lawful self-defense.^[20]
• "Men are almost never victims." The State Police dashboard shows 31.0% of recorded domestic violence victims in 2025 as male.^[4]