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| This order is only available from the BC Supreme Court. It gives the victim the legal right to occupy the home exclusive of the other party, or to possess and use specified personal property stored at the family residence, including to the exclusion of the other party. The victim and the other party must be spouses, meaning they must be married or have been living in a marriage-like relationship and have done so for a continuous period of at least two years, or have a child together. This order lasts as long as they both have a legal right to be on the property. A court does not have jurisdiction to grant this order where the family home is situated on an Indian reserve. | | This order is only available from the BC Supreme Court. It gives the victim the legal right to occupy the home exclusive of the other party, or to possess and use specified personal property stored at the family residence, including to the exclusion of the other party. The victim and the other party must be spouses, meaning they must be married or have been living in a marriage-like relationship and have done so for a continuous period of at least two years, or have a child together. This order lasts as long as they both have a legal right to be on the property. A court does not have jurisdiction to grant this order where the family home is situated on an Indian reserve. |
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| = C. A Note on Services That May Be Harmful to Victims' Interests =
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| Not all services that claim to be helpful or protective of victims’ interests really are. For instance, some advocacy organizations have noted that some services are not healthy for women experiencing violence. Marriage counselling, couples’ therapy, and mediation promote reconciliation but may not address underlying issues such as power imbalance and disrespect towards women. Some programs for offenders may not challenge the man’s beliefs and attitudes towards women.
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| However, it must also be noted that an abuser may be any gender and that the victim may also be any gender. Victims and their advocates should always make sure that the resources and services that they are considering will be beneficial to victims’ interests.
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| '''An individual who is a victim of violence should also be advised that with regard to Compulsory Family Mediation, they can apply to not participate.''' The victim should be advised to consult a lawyer.
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| == B. Court Orders == | | == B. Court Orders == |
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| This order is only available from the BC Supreme Court. It gives the victim the legal right to occupy the home exclusive of the other party, or to possess and use specified personal property stored at the family residence, including to the exclusion of the other party. The victim and the other party must be spouses, meaning they must be married or have been living in a marriage-like relationship and have done so for a continuous period of at least two years, or have a child together. This order lasts as long as they '''both''' have a legal right to be on the property. A court does not have jurisdiction to grant this order where the family home is situated on an Indian reserve. | | This order is only available from the BC Supreme Court. It gives the victim the legal right to occupy the home exclusive of the other party, or to possess and use specified personal property stored at the family residence, including to the exclusion of the other party. The victim and the other party must be spouses, meaning they must be married or have been living in a marriage-like relationship and have done so for a continuous period of at least two years, or have a child together. This order lasts as long as they '''both''' have a legal right to be on the property. A court does not have jurisdiction to grant this order where the family home is situated on an Indian reserve. |
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| == C. Victim Notification and Safety Planning ==
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| === 1. Victim Link BC === | | = C. A Note on Services That May Be Harmful to Victims' Interests = |
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| Victim Link BC provides assistance in connecting to a victim service worker in any area of BC. The service is toll free, confidential and anonymous.
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| {{ResourcesLSLAP_phoneonline
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| | phone = Toll Free: 1-800-563-0808
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| | online = [http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/justice/criminal-justice/victims-of-crime/victimlinkbc Website]
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| }}
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| === 2. Victim Safety Unit (VSU) ===
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| Victims, civil protected parties, and victim service workers (on behalf of their clients) may call the Victim Safety Unit to request specific information including BC Corrections custody status, court updates, and copies of protection orders. These parties may also register with VSU to receive updates automatically. If the offender is under federal jurisdiction (under the supervision of the Correctional Service of Canada or the Parole Board of Canada), the VSU will, upon request, forward the registration form to CSC/PBC. The CSC/PBC will provide victim notification to registered victims directly.
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| {{ResourcesLSLAP_phoneonline
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| | phone = (604) 660-0316 <br /> Toll-Free: 1-877-315-8822
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| | online = [http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/justice/criminal-justice/bcs-criminal-justice-system/if-you-are-a-victim-of-a-crime/victim-of-crime/victim-notification Website]
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| }}
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| === 3. Crime Victim Assistance Program (CVAP) ===
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| The Crime Victim Assistance Program offers a variety of benefits to assist victims in dealing with the aftermath of violence in relationships. In situations where the offender represents an ongoing significant risk to the victim’s safety, protective measures such as home alarm systems, security devices, and equipment and other safety measures may be available. In cases involving high risk victims, the victim and his or her family may be eligible for relocation expenses where all other safety measures are considered insufficient to address the victim’s safety needs. For a complete list of benefits available, see the CVAP website, below.
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| {{ResourcesLSLAP_phoneonline
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| | phone = (604) 660-3888 <br /> Toll-Free: 1-866-660-3888
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| | online = [http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/justice/criminal-justice/bcs-criminal-justice-system/if-you-are-a-victim-of-a-crime/victim-of-crime/financial-assistance-benefits Website]
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| }}
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| == D. Finding Funding for Counselling ==
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| === 1. Crime Victim Assistance Program funding for counselling ===
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| The ''Crime Victim Assistance Act'' establishes counselling services or expenses as a benefit that may be available to victims, immediate family members of injured or deceased victims, and some witnesses. The Crime Victim Assistance (General) Regulation sets out the conditions or limitations for providing counselling benefits and also establishes the approved fee rate for reimbursement of counselling services. The Counselling Guidelines provide further information and clarification regarding expectations for the provision of counselling services, reporting requirements and limitations applicable to service providers requesting reimbursement for counselling services on accepted claims with the Crime Victim Assistance Program.
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| For detailed information see ‘Counselling Guidelines’ on the CVAP page of the BC Government [http://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/justice/criminal-justice/bcs-criminal-justice-system/if-you-are-a-victim-of-a-crime/victim-of-crime/financial-assistance-benefits website].
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| === 2. Children’s Counselling Services (formerly Children’s Sexual Abuse Intervention Program) ===
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| This service helps children deal with the effects of trauma at each developmental level. Parents and professionals can call the Ministry of Child and Family Development at 1-877-387-7027 to request referrals to the program, which is free and confidential.
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| {{ResourcesLSLAP_addressphone
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| | address = Sunshine Coast Community Services Society
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| | phone = (604) 885-5881 ext. 228
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| }}
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| === 3. Stopping the Violence Counselling (Ministry of Justice) ===
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| There are a number of community-based counselling programs that provide counselling services to women who have experienced sexual assault, relationship violence, or childhood abuse. The range of individual and group counselling services are based on the needs of the individual women and delivered in an accessible, safe, and supportive environment.
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| A list outlining the available programs is available at this website: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/law-crime-and-justice/criminal-justice/victims-of-crime/vs-info-for-professionals/directory/stopping-the-violence-counselling.pdf
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| === 4. Children Who Witness Abuse Programs (Ministry of Justice) ===
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| This community based program provides individual and group counselling services for children who witness the abuse of a parent, who is most often a mother. Designed to help break the intergenerational cycle of violence against women, this program helps children cope with, and heal from, the trauma of living in an abusive situation. Support is also provided to the non-offending caregiver who has been abused by their partner.
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| For a detailed, area specific contact list, see: http://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/law-crime-and-justice/criminal-justice/bc-criminal-justice-system/if-victim/children-young-victim/protecting/cwwa-directory.pdf
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| === 5. Residential Historical Abuse Program ===
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| This option is available to the victim if he or she was abused or assaulted while in foster care or in a provincially funded institution. The victim can acquire the forms from the Ministry of Health, Victim Assistance, Mental Health Centres, or by calling the toll-free VictimLINK information line at 1-800-563-0808.
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| The Residential Historical Abuse Program provides professional counselling services for BC residents who were abused while under the age of 19 and while living in a home or residential program operated or funded by the province. A counsellor who meets provincial standards will develop a personal treatment plan with the victim, which may include individual, group, or family counselling.
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| The victim does not have to prove that she or he was sexually, physically, or mentally abused to receive counselling services, nor does she or he have to name the person(s) who abused her or him. The Ministry will simply verify that he or she was in that particular residential program at the time of the offence(s). No police complaint is necessary, but there is a legal obligation to report abuses to appropriate authorities if children are still at risk of being sexually abused. The government or the police may contact the victim for information. The contents of the application are otherwise confidential.
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| The application process is simple and generally does not impede any legal action or application to the CVAP – although if the applicant is eligible for funding from another source for a same or similar purpose, the CVAP must deduct that funding (or those counselling sessions) when considering the application.
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| === 6. A Note on Services That May Be Harmful to Victims’ Interests ===
| |
| Not all services that claim to be helpful or protective of victims’ interests really are. Some advocacy organizations have noted that some services are not healthy for women experiencing violence. For example, marriage counselling, couples’ therapy, and mediation promote reconciliation, but may not address underlying issues such as power imbalance and disrespect towards women. Some programs for offenders may not challenge the man’s beliefs and attitudes towards women.
| |
| | |
| However, it must also be noted that an abuser may be any gender, and that the victim may also be any gender. Victims and their advocates should always make sure that the resources and services that they are considering will be beneficial to victims’ interests.
| |
|
| |
|
| | Not all services that claim to be helpful or protective of victims’ interests really are. For instance, some advocacy organizations have noted that some services are not healthy for women experiencing violence. Marriage counselling, couples’ therapy, and mediation promote reconciliation but may not address underlying issues such as power imbalance and disrespect towards women. Some programs for offenders may not challenge the man’s beliefs and attitudes towards women. |
| | |
| | However, it must also be noted that an abuser may be any gender and that the victim may also be any gender. Victims and their advocates should always make sure that the resources and services that they are considering will be beneficial to victims’ interests. |
| | |
| '''An individual who is a victim of violence should also be advised that with regard to Compulsory Family Mediation, they can apply to not participate.''' The victim should be advised to consult a lawyer. | | '''An individual who is a victim of violence should also be advised that with regard to Compulsory Family Mediation, they can apply to not participate.''' The victim should be advised to consult a lawyer. |
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| {{REVIEWED LSLAP | date= July 4, 2019}} | | {{REVIEWED LSLAP | date= August 10, 2020}} |
| {{LSLAP Manual Navbox|type=chapters1-7}} | | {{LSLAP Manual Navbox|type=chapters1-7}} |
