Abuse & staying safe

Information about how to recognize abuse and harassment and what you can do to help protect yourself or others from being abused.

This booklet is for women with children who’ve been abused by their intimate partner. This includes a spouse or someone with whom they share a child but were never in a relationship with. The booklet explains how to get help and protection, and how to handle parenting arrangements.

Brochure about abuse of women in relationships. Explains what abuse is and what the warning signs are, and provides resources for help and support.

Describes relationship abuse, dispels common myths about abuse involving LGBTQ2S folk, discusses why a person might stay with an abusive partner, provides practical tips for making a plan to stay or leave safely, and lists community resources where help is available. Co-produced with QMUNITY.

Describes relationship abuse, dispels common myths about abuse involving trans folk, discusses why someone might stay with an abusive partner, provides practical tips for making a plan to stay safely or leave, and lists community resources where help is available. Co-produced with QMUNITY.

Describes what can happen if the ministry thinks your child’s safety is at risk, including your responsibilities and rights as a parent, how you can be involved in making decisions for your child’s future, and how to avoid having to go to court.

Sometimes people responsible for a child disagree with the Ministry of Children and Family Development or Aboriginal child and family service agency about a child’s safety. Child protection mediation is a way to make a plan for a child’s safety with the help of an impartial person called a mediator.

For people facing a complicated child protection hearing who have been denied legal aid but can’t afford a lawyer. Explains why you can ask for a court-appointed lawyer and how to apply. Includes forms and what to say to the judge in court.

Booklet explains when to report child abuse and neglect, and what to report. Includes what child abuse and neglect is, warning signs, what to do if a child tells you about the abuse, and what to do if you suspect abuse. It also explains what to expect when you make the report and what happens next.

Explains what happens if the Director of Child Protection has concerns about a child's safety or plans to remove them. Describes collaborative (shared) planning, decision-making options, and presentation and protection hearings. Includes information for Indigenous families, where to get help, and definitions.

This describes BC’s network of care, where family and community members provide kinship care and individuals or families foster children and youth. The network of care also includes community social service agencies who provide care for children and youth with complex needs in a specialized environment.

Identifies the law around child protection for Aboriginal children in BC, sets out some aspects of the child protection/removal process, and explains parents’ and band rights and responsibilities.

Explains what delegated Aboriginal agencies are and what their role is in the Aboriginal community. Also includes information for Aboriginal parents on what they can do if they’re being investigated for a child protection matter.

Illustrated booklet that explains the child protection process for Aboriginal children and families. Describes delegated Aboriginal agencies, mediation, the court process, and the Family Extended Program. Has a flow chart of the child protection process.

Provides information about the Extended Family Program. Under the program, parents who are temporarily unable to care for their children can ask to have their children placed in the care of family or friends, instead of having them go into foster care.

When someone in a trusted relationship with an older person does something that harms or distresses them, this is elder abuse. Learn what options exist if you suspect elder abuse.

This manual describes the key legal issues related to residential care in British Columbia, along with the appropriate processes and available legal or administrative remedies.

This e-book covers the types of elder abuse and risk factors, BC government programs and community services available for older adults who are abused and neglected, and practice tips on how to work with older adults.

Describes what abuse, neglect, and self-neglect are, what a designated agency can do, and how the community-response network aims to provide a coordinated response to these complex problems.

This help sheet will explain who to talk to–or who to report to–if you have been sexually assaulted. Generously funded by the Ministry of Public Safety.

Explains peace bonds, family law protection orders, and things you can do to help you and your family stay safe from an abusive or violent person.

Explains what type of behaviour counts as criminal harassment and what steps you can take to protect yourself. It also includes a list of local or provincial agencies that can offer support or helpful information.

This is a resource for anyone in BC who needs protection from a specific person or people and wants to get an order from the court.

Online step-by-step guide for how to apply for a court order to protect yourself from a family member.

This booklet is for people living in BC who need protection from a partner they are ― or have been ― in an intimate relationship with. Explains how and when people can get peace bonds and family law protection orders, and what the differences are between them.

After separating from a partner, you may want to know if you can change the locks to your rental home. Different living situations can create different legal rights and responsibilities. This guide will help you figure out if you can change the locks and how to get it done.

Includes examples of how the other person may use the legal system to harass (bother) or abuse you, and what you can do.

Contains information for those experiencing abuse in a relationship or in a family. It outlines what to do in case of an emergency and discusses the decision whether to leave or stay, and suggests where to get the help and support you need.

This chapter provides an overview of the ways that criminal law, tort law, and the Family Law Act can address issues of family violence, including through peace bonds and protection orders. It also takes a brief look at some child protection issues.

This booklet is for older adults who may be suffering from abuse by someone they trust — it could be a partner or spouse, a family member, a caregiver, a service provider or another individual. This kind of abuse of intimacy or trust is wrong.

This chapter is from the manual used by law students handling cases at LSLAP’s legal clinics. It contains an overview of the support, resources, and legal options that are available to victims of crime.