Legal Resources

Find websites and materials written in plain language.

Logo features a scale of justice and a book with the acronym "LSLAP" in white on a blue gradient background.

LSLAP Manual: Human Rights

Law Students’ Legal Advice Program (LSLAP)
This chapter is used by law students handling cases at LSLAP’s legal clinics. It’s an overview of legislated human rights, the contexts in which those rights operate, and prohibited grounds of discrimination. The complaints process and available remedies are also addressed.
Last reviewed September 2024
Thumbnail of the handbook cover showing a child walking across a rainbow-toned ground. The Lawyers Against Transphobia logo is placed at the bottom.

Protecting Our Schools: A Handbook to Address Transphobia in Education

Lawyers Against Transphobia
A detailed guide to help school boards, staff, and students fight transphobia in schools. It was created by Lawyers Against Transphobia, a group of about 50 lawyers, teachers, parents, and justice workers, whose goal is to tackle transphobia by working within the legal system and with the media, and responding to transphobic incidents as they...
Last reviewed September 2024
Logo features two rainbow-coloured arcs forming a left-pointing arrow, and the organization name.

Know Your Rights: A Toolkit for 2SLGBTQIA+ Folks in Navigating Youth, Healthcare and Criminal Justice Issues

Kamloops Pride
This online toolkit is a compilation of questions and answers around issues affecting 2SLGBTQIA+ folks. The content is divided into sections on criminal justice, health care, youth health care, and youth. The appendixes include definitions, resources, human right complaints, BC Corrections, and forms.
Last reviewed August 2024
Logo with the words "British Columbia" and a sun rising behind mountains.

Information on Protection Orders

Government of British Columbia
Read about what a protection order is, when you should get one, how it will protect you, and who you can speak with to get more information about how to apply for one.
Last reviewed August 2024
Logo, coloured pale pink, blue, purple, and black, features a circle and curved line with two semi circles representing weights on a scale, over a diagonal line. The organization name is to the right.

Legal Info

JusticeTrans
This resource includes province-specific legal resources. For BC this includes information about your rights if you’re arrested or detained, how to change your gender marker, the BC Human Rights Code, and how to change your name.
Last reviewed July 2024
Logo features a curved design in rainbow colours, including pink, blue, brown, and black, and the organization name, with a red maple leaf after the name.

LGBTQI+ Refugees in Canada — Making a Refugee Claim: Basic Steps

Rainbow Refugee
This resource explains the steps for making a refugee claim for people who have already arrived in BC. It includes links to the forms you need, and explains how to prepare for your hearing.
Last reviewed July 2024
Thumbnail of the cover, with title and logo, illustrated with a photo of three generations of women's hands one on top of the other, with the elder's hand at the bottom and the youngest at the top.

Women’s Right to Be Safe

Native Courtworker and Counselling Association of British Columbia
This resource introduces Indigenous children, girls, and women to community services that provide culturally-appropriate support for safety concerns.
Last reviewed July 2024
Thumbnail of the cover with the title an, an image of overlapping silhouettes of women facing each other, and the Battered Women’s Support Services logo. The colours are dark blues and greens.

When Battered Women Are Arrested: A Growing Problem

Battered Women’s Support Services (BWSS)
This tool is for women who have been abused by their partner and arrested by the police. It is aimed at empowering women to get support and take action about the arrest.
Last reviewed March 2024
Thumbnail of the cover with the title an, an image of overlapping silhouettes of women facing each other, and the Battered Women’s Support Services logo. The colours are orange and brown.

When Battered Women Are Arrested (A Resource for Front-Line Workers)

Battered Women’s Support Services (BWSS)
A growing number of women that Battered Women’s Support Services help have been arrested for allegedly perpetrating violence against their partners, despite the fact that in all cases the women were being abused by their partners. This tool is designed to help advocates provide information, support, and advocacy.
Last reviewed March 2024
Thumbnail of the manual cover showing stylized profiles of women's faces in shades of green, blue, and purple. It includes the (Battered Women's Support Services logo.

Resources for Women and Advocates

Battered Women’s Support Services (BWSS)
Provides a list of resources and contacts for women and advocates. This manual is designed to enhance knowledge and strengthen skills of the women and men who are the first point of contact to comprehensively meet the needs of refugee and immigrant women.
Last reviewed March 2024