Learning and Knowledge Exchanges
This webpage is a centralized hub for resources related to Gender-Based Violence (GBV) from organizations across British Columbia, as well as key national and international research. We will continue to update this webpage as further resources become available.
Seeking a Peace Bond: A Guide
This resource is for anyone in BC who fears for their safety and seeks an order from the court providing protection from a specific person or people. A peace bond may be the best option for you if the person you are seeking protection from does not fall within the definition of “family member” in the Family Law Act.
Decolonizing Family Law Through Trauma Informed Practices
This report focuses on improving the legal system and access to justice in BC through decolonizing family law. Areas of improvement identified by nearly all experts consulted were “the need to expand the legal system’s understanding of family law to make room for Indigenous laws and concepts, the need for education, and the need for lawyers and other legal system professionals to engage in trauma-informed practice.”
Are We Ready to Change? A Lawyer’s Guide to Keeping Women and Children Safe in BC’s Family Law System
This report, with a focus on the voices of women survivors, provide an opportunity for lawyers and the legal system in BC to improve its response to family violence. It also provides some practical considerations for lawyers around screening and safety planning, and highlights areas of the Family Law Act that would benefit from thoughtful analysis, law reform, and/or strategic litigation.
Why Can’t Everyone Just Get Along: How BC’s Family Law System Puts Survivors In Danger
Family violence can trap its victims, disproportionately women, in a web of social, legal, political and interpersonal realities which can be challenging for the legal system to address.