Glossary for Family Violence & Abuse

Family Violence and Abuse from People's Law School is no longer available. For updated coverage of this topic, see Dial-A-Law's page on family violence.

abuser

A person who commits abuse.

bail

A court order that releases an accused from jail until their trial date. The must obey certain conditions and return to court

on a specific date.

breach to disobey an order made by a judge.

crown counsel

Independent lawyers with the

prosecution service. Crown counsel do not represent the government, police or victims of crime. Rather, they work on behalf of the public.

defense lawyer

Lawyer who represents a person facing criminal charges.

family law protection order

Protection order made under the BC Family Law Act. It protects you and your children from violence and abuse by other family members.

no contact order

An order in which a judge orders a person to stay away from another person.

parenting order

Under the Family Law Act (in either Provincial Court or Supreme Court), a court order dealing with guardianship, parenting time, allocation of parenting responsibilities, or contact with a child. Under the Divorce Act in Supreme Court, a court order dealing with custody and access.

peace bond

Protection order made by a judge under the Criminal Code of Canada in criminal court.

probation

A sentence, or portion of a sentence in which the offender is released into the community under the supervision of a probation officer and must follow certain conditions such as being of good behaviour, abstaining from alcohol, not contacting the victim, etc.

protection order

Order made by a judge in court that is meant to protect one person from another.

protection order registry

A computer database of protection orders issued by BC courts.

subpoena

A document the court gives to a person which demands that they come to court to be a witness in a trial.

sentence

The punishment a person receives after being found guilty of or pleading guilty to a crime. For example, fines, community supervision or time in prison (also called a correctional centre or penitentiary).

victim of crime

A person who has been directly or indirectly affected by a crime.

victim impact statement

A written description by a victim of how the crime has affected them, including the physical, financial and emotional effects of the crime. The judge considers the information in the victim impact statement when he or she decides the sentence.

witness

A person who gives evidence at any step in a legal proceeding.

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by People's Law School, 2014.

Family Violence and Abuse from People's Law School is no longer available. For updated coverage of this topic, see Dial-A-Law's page on family violence.

Workplace Bullying and Harassment © People's Law School is, except for the images, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International Licence.