Difference between revisions of "Family Violence"

If you have suffered family violence, call the police; nothing will happen until you do. If there is evidence of abuse, the police can arrest your partner and may take him or her into <span class="noglossary">custody</span>. To find out more about what the police can do, you may wish to read [http://clicklaw.bc.ca/resource/2412 Getting Help from the Police or RCMP] and

[http://clicklaw.bc.ca/resource/2237 Surviving Relationship Violence and Abuse]. If your partner is taken into <span class="noglossary">custody</span>, he or she will stay there until a judge is able to speak to him or her. Most of the time, your partner will be released from <span class="noglossary">custody</span> until the trial date following the <span class="noglossary">brief</span> hearing, and the <span class="noglossary">release</span> will be on specific terms and conditions set out in a document called a ''Recognizance'' or an ''Undertaking''.

If your partner doesn't follow the terms of his or her recognizance or undertaking, call the police. They won't be aware that there's a further problem unless you let them know.

You must speak to crown counsel if you want to get back together with your partner, or if you want to <span class="noglossary">contact</span> him or her, or stop the criminal process. You cannot change the terms of your partner's recognizance or drop the charges yourself. Only crown counsel can do that. If you <span class="noglossary">contact</span> your partner, you could be making matters worse since you'll be inviting him or her to break the terms of the recognizance, which might result in further criminal charges against your spouse.