If a woman is being abused by her partner, the legal help available includes:

• calling the police
• talking to a victim services worker
• contacting a local women's centre, transition house, Aboriginal friendship centre, or immigrant service organization
• asking for help in making a safety plan
• getting a court order to keep the abuser away from the woman and her children (a peace bond, restraining order, or no-contact order)

Good starting points include:

• Legal Information for Battered Women: Taking Legal Action, from the Legal Services Society, provides an overview of the options for legal action and help where a woman has been beaten or threatened by a husband or partner.
• For Your Protection: Peace Bonds and Restraining Orders, from the provincial government and Legal Services Society, explains how and when people can apply for peace bonds and restraining orders, and what the differences are between them.
• Surviving Relationship Violence and Abuse, from the Legal Services Society, explains what women can do to protect themselves and their children, including how to make a safety plan, what the police can do, how the court process works, how to leave an abusive relationship, and who can help.
• Family Violence, from the Canadian Bar Association BC Branch, provides an introduction to what options are available for those experiencing abuse in a relationship.

tags

abusive relationship, relationship violence, violence against women, peace bond, restraining order, women facing abuse, spouse abuse, family violence