Tennessee does not have a single statute called “emotional abuse,” but the emotional abuse laws in Tennessee are spread across the domestic violence, child welfare, adult protective services, stalking, harassment, and civil tort codes. Depending on your situation, you can petition for an order of protection, report the conduct for criminal prosecution, or sue for intentional or negligent infliction of emotional distress. Which route fits depends on your relationship to the abuser and how their behavior lines up with the specific definitions the law uses.
How the Law Defines Abusive Conduct
Emotional abuse rarely fits neatly into one legal box in Tennessee. The definition that applies to your case depends on who is being harmed.
Domestic Relationships
Tennessee’s assault statute criminalizes intentionally or knowingly causing another person to reasonably fear imminent bodily injury, with no physical contact required.1Justia. Tennessee Code 39-13-101 – Assault When the target is a current or former spouse, someone you live with or have dated, or a family member by blood or marriage, that same conduct becomes domestic assault.2Justia. Tennessee Code 39-13-111 – Domestic Assault Repeated verbal threats and intimidation can satisfy that “fear of imminent bodily injury” element even without any physical contact.
The order-of-protection code uses a broader definition of “abuse” that reaches placing someone in fear of physical harm or physical restraint, malicious property damage, and financial abuse.3Justia. Tennessee Code 36-3-601 – Part Definitions That gives you a civil path even when the behavior wouldn’t support a criminal charge.
Children
Tennessee’s child welfare code defines abuse to cover any situation where a child suffers or faces immediate danger of a wound, injury, disability, or physical or mental condition caused by brutality, neglect, extreme or repeated cruelty, or other harmful actions by a parent, guardian, or caregiver.4Justia. Tennessee Code 37-1-102 – Chapter and Part Definitions The “mental condition” language is what brings emotional abuse in. Persistent verbal cruelty, humiliation, or rejection that damages a child’s psychological development can trigger a Department of Children’s Services investigation.
Elderly and Vulnerable Adults
The adult protective services code defines abuse to include a caretaker inflicting mental anguish on an adult, depriving them of necessary services, or creating a situation where the adult cannot obtain those services themselves.5Justia. Tennessee Code 71-6-102 – Part Definitions The “mental anguish” language covers caretakers who use threats, manipulation, or isolation to control an elderly or disabled person. Reports go to Adult Protective Services, which can investigate and refer cases for prosecution.
A Note on the Workplace
The Tennessee Human Rights Act reaches workplace harassment only when it is tied to a protected characteristic like race, sex, age, religion, color, creed, or national origin.6Justia. Tennessee Code 4-21-101 – Purpose and Intent General workplace bullying that isn’t linked to a protected class is not covered, and Tennessee has not enacted a standalone workplace bullying statute.
Getting an Order of Protection
An order of protection is usually the fastest legal tool. It can bar the abuser from contacting you, coming near your home or workplace, or continuing to harass or intimidate you.
Who Qualifies and Where to File
Any victim of domestic abuse, stalking, or sexual assault who has been subjected to, threatened with, or placed in fear of such conduct can petition.7Justia. Tennessee Code 36-3-602 – Petition – Venue File in the county where the abuser lives or where the abuse happened; if the abuser lives out of state, file where you live. If the petitioner is an unemancipated minor, a parent, guardian, or authorized caseworker from a domestic violence prevention organization has to sign the petition.
Emergency Orders and Full Hearings
When a judge finds immediate risk, an ex parte order can issue the same day without the abuser present. The court holds a hearing within fifteen days of the abuser being served, and if you prove the abuse by a preponderance of the evidence, the order can extend up to one year.8Justia. Tennessee Code 36-3-605 – Ex Parte Protection Order Either side can ask for another hearing to continue the order for additional one-year periods.
Consequences of a Violation
Violating an order of protection is a Class A misdemeanor, with a fine between $100 and $2,500, and any jail sentence runs consecutively to sentences for other offenses tied to the same facts.9Justia. Tennessee Code 39-13-113 – Violation of an Order of Protection Someone arrested for a violation must be brought before a magistrate without unnecessary delay, and the contempt hearing must be scheduled within ten working days.10Justia. Tennessee Code 36-3-612 – Contempt Hearing
A first violation can lead the court to extend the order up to five years. A second or later violation can push the extension to ten years, and no new petition is required.8Justia. Tennessee Code 36-3-605 – Ex Parte Protection Order In cases involving shared children, judges can also include temporary custody terms and restrictions on disparaging the other parent in front of the child.
Criminal Charges That Fit Emotional Abuse
No Tennessee criminal statute uses “emotional abuse” as an offense name, but several existing laws cover the conduct.
Stalking
Stalking is a willful pattern of repeated or continuing harassment that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized, frightened, or threatened, and actually does cause the victim to feel that way.11Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-315 – Stalking, Aggravated Stalking, and Especially Aggravated Stalking It is the criminal statute most closely aimed at sustained psychological torment.
Basic stalking is a Class A misdemeanor punishable by up to eleven months and twenty-nine days in jail and a fine up to $2,500.12Justia. Tennessee Code 40-35-111 – Authorized Terms of Imprisonment and Fines It escalates to aggravated stalking, a Class E felony carrying one to six years, when the offender has a prior stalking conviction within seven years or knowingly violates a protective order while stalking.11Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-315 – Stalking, Aggravated Stalking, and Especially Aggravated Stalking
Harassment
Tennessee’s harassment statute reaches two kinds of conduct: communicating a threat that the sender intends as a threat and a reasonable person would perceive as one, and making repeated communications with no legitimate purpose that are meant to annoy, offend, alarm, or frighten.13Justia. Tennessee Code 39-17-308 – Harassment Relentless calls, texts, or messages often fall into the second category.
Assault Without Contact
Assault covers more than physical touching. Intentionally or knowingly causing someone to reasonably fear imminent bodily injury qualifies, and when the target is a domestic partner or family member it becomes domestic assault.1Justia. Tennessee Code 39-13-101 – Assault2Justia. Tennessee Code 39-13-111 – Domestic Assault Repeated in-person or phone threats can meet the standard.
Suing for Emotional Distress
Criminal charges punish the abuser. A civil lawsuit compensates you. If the abuse forced you to spend money on therapy, lose wages, or absorb other financial harm alongside the psychological damage, a civil claim may be worth pursuing. Tennessee recognizes two theories, and each has a demanding proof standard.
Intentional Infliction of Emotional Distress
Tennessee courts call this the tort of “outrageous conduct.” To win, you must show the abuser’s behavior was so extreme and outrageous it would not be tolerated in civilized society, the abuser acted intentionally or recklessly, and you suffered serious mental injury. In Bain v. Wells, 936 S.W.2d 618 (Tenn. 1997), the Tennessee Supreme Court set a very high bar and explained that ordinary insults, indignities, and petty cruelty do not qualify; the conduct must be so severe that an average person hearing the facts would exclaim “outrageous.” In practice, the claims that reach a jury involve prolonged, systematic behavior rather than isolated incidents.
Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress
This applies when careless (rather than intentional) conduct causes severe emotional harm. In Camper v. Minor, 915 S.W.2d 437 (Tenn. 1996), the Tennessee Supreme Court used a general negligence framework requiring duty, breach, injury, causation, and proximate cause, then added two safeguards: the emotional injury must be “serious or severe,” meaning a normally constituted reasonable person would be unable to cope with the resulting mental stress, and you must support the injury with expert medical or scientific evidence.14Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. Camper v Minor Opinion Without expert testimony, the claim will not survive summary judgment.
What You Can Recover
Damages can include the cost of therapy and medical treatment, lost income if the abuse affected your ability to work, and compensation for the psychological suffering itself. Forensic psychological evaluations and expert witnesses, which are practically essential given Camper, tend to be the largest single case expense.
Deadlines Are Short
Personal injury claims in Tennessee, which include both intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, must be filed within one year of the date the cause of action accrued.15Justia. Tennessee Code 28-3-104 – Personal Tort Actions Miss it and the court will almost certainly dismiss your case no matter how strong the evidence.
Two exceptions can buy time. If criminal charges are brought against the person who caused your injury within one year, the civil filing deadline extends to two years.15Justia. Tennessee Code 28-3-104 – Personal Tort Actions Tennessee courts also apply a “discovery rule,” which starts the clock when you discovered or reasonably should have discovered the injury rather than when the abuse first occurred. In prolonged emotional abuse cases where psychological damage builds gradually, that rule can matter.
Documenting What Is Happening
Emotional abuse is harder to prove than a broken bone, which is why documentation matters. Courts look for patterns, not single incidents.
Written and Digital Records
Save every abusive text, email, voicemail, and social media message. Screenshots should capture the sender’s name, date, and time. If posts are visible to others, save those too; they can show intent to humiliate or isolate. Keep a personal journal with dates, what happened, and any witnesses. Courts give significant weight to contemporaneous records.
Recording Conversations
Tennessee is a one-party consent state. You can legally record a conversation you are part of without telling the other person, as long as you are not recording to commit a crime or tort.16Justia. Tennessee Code 39-13-601 – Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance You cannot record a conversation between two other people that you are not part of.
Expert and Witness Testimony
A mental health professional’s evaluation is close to mandatory for civil emotional distress claims because of the Camper requirement for expert proof of serious injury.14Tennessee Administrative Office of the Courts. Camper v Minor Opinion Family members, coworkers, or friends who saw the abuse or its effects can also strengthen a protective order petition or a criminal case. Law enforcement can subpoena phone and internet records to back up your account.
Where to Report
Where you report depends on who is being abused.
- Children: Call the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services Child Abuse Hotline at 1-877-237-0004, or file a report online. Reports can also go to the local sheriff, police chief, or juvenile court judge.17Tennessee Department of Children’s Services. Report Child Abuse
- Elderly or vulnerable adults: Contact Adult Protective Services through the Tennessee Department of Human Services.
- Domestic abuse: Call local law enforcement or go to the courthouse to file for an order of protection. The National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233) offers 24/7 confidential support, live chat, and referrals to shelters and legal help. You can also text START to 88788.
- Workplace harassment tied to discrimination: File with the Tennessee Human Rights Commission or the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
Mandatory Reporting for Child Abuse
Tennessee law requires any person who has knowledge of or is called on to help a child suffering from a wound, injury, disability, or physical or mental condition that reasonably appears caused by abuse or neglect to report it immediately by phone or other means.18Justia. Tennessee Code 37-1-403 – Reporting of Brutality, Abuse, or Neglect The duty is not limited to professionals; it applies to everyone. Failure to report can carry criminal penalties, and Tennessee law protects good-faith reporters from retaliation.
Federal Protection When Abuse Crosses State Lines
The federal stalking statute makes it a felony to use the mail, internet, or any other interstate communication tool to engage in a course of conduct that places someone in reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury, or that causes or would reasonably be expected to cause substantial emotional distress.19Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 2261A – Stalking The “substantial emotional distress” prong means federal prosecutors do not need to prove a threat of physical violence when the psychological harm is severe enough on its own. Conviction carries up to five years in federal prison.
If you hold a Tennessee order of protection and later move to another state, or if the abuser crosses state lines, the federal Violence Against Women Act requires every state, tribe, and territory to enforce the order as if it had been issued locally. Registration in the new state is not required for enforceability, though it can make police response faster if you need help quickly.