Laws are meant to protect the public and ensure justice for victims. So what happens when those laws fail the people they were designed to protect? Producer Noelle Annonen takes a look at the cracks in the state legal system that survivors of domestic, intimate partner, and sexual violence often fall through.

Domestic violence is happening around the country every few minutes, even in places like Cape Cod. ‘Intimate - an Upper Cape Catch Limited series,' aims to shed light on the often overlooked social problem of intimate partner and domestic violence and abuse.

To read Jamie Costa’s reporting on the dangerousness bill, click here.

To read Ally Jarmanning’s investigation into MGL Section 97D covered in this episode for WBUR, click here.

For free assistance with domestic or intimate partner violence, call the Independence House 24-hour hotline at 800-439-6507.

Graphic Design Credit: Gilda Geist