Staying Safe

You can take several steps to help keep you and your loved ones safe. This section guides you to services and resources available to help protect you and your loved ones.

Speak With Someone

If you fear for your or your loved ones’ safety and you are in immediate danger, please call 911 immediately. If your community does not have 911 services, the local police emergency number can be found on the inside front cover of your phone book under emergency numbers

Police

If you would like police assistance and are not in immediate danger, please call your local police non-emergency number.

Ask the police about a protection order to help keep you and your loved ones safe.

The police can also provide information about a local victim service worker.

Victim Service Workers

Victim service workers are specially trained to help victims of crime. They can speak to you in confidence about your safety concerns. They will discuss your options, answer your questions and can help you develop a safety plan.

A safety plan may be helpful if you fear for your safety, expect violence, are in an abusive relationship or believe you may become a victim of crime for any other reason.

If you would like help and support from a victim service worker, please call VictimLinkBC.

Violence Against Women

For safety information for relationship violence, please see Creating a Safety Plan and the Personalized Safety Planning Template (DOC).

If you feel staying in your home places you in danger or leaving your home will help you escape or prevent an attack, go to an emergency shelter. You and your children can stay at an emergency shelter for free while you decide what to do next.

You can go yourself or you can ask police to take you to a safe house, transition house or to another place where you will feel safe (such as a friend’s or relative’s house). Visit Shelters and Housing for more information.

Stopping the Violence Counselling Programs counsel women who have experienced violence in relationships, childhood abuse or sexual assault, while Children Who Witness Abuse Counselling Programs provide individual and group counselling to children aged 3 to 18 who have witnessed violence in the home.

Outreach Services Programs respond to the needs of women and their dependent children who have experienced or are at risk of violence. They deliver services including supportive counselling, referrals to community services, local transportation, accompaniment and advocacy.

Multicultural Outreach Services Programs support women and their dependent children from diverse cultures who have experienced or are at risk of violence. They deliver services include supportive counselling, referrals to community services, local transportation, accompaniment and advocacy. Services are provided in 24 languages to ensure women are assisted by people who speak their language and are familiar with their culture.

Contact VictimLinkBC for more information about these and other counseling programs.

Protection Orders

A protection order is a court order made by a judge to help protect one person from another. A protection order lists conditions for a named individual to follow that may require that individual to have no contact, or limited contact, with the person being protected or that person’s children and/or family. The conditions may include not going to the protected person’s home or workplace, no phone calls, emails, or letters, and no messages through a friend or relative. The order may include other conditions as well.

Learn more about protection orders on the Legal Services Society's Abuse & Family Violence webpages and the Protection Order registry website.

Victim Notification – Victim Safety Unit

If you are a victim of crime, you can ask to receive information about the accused or offender. Visit Victim Notification to learn more about this service.