Peace Bonds and Family Law Protection Orders
This resource is for people who need protection from violent partners or former partners. Explains how and when you can get peace bonds and family law protection orders, and what the differences are between them.
People seek court orders for protection for a variety of reasons, in a variety of situations — for example, to help prevent physical violence or damage to property by a co-worker, a neighbour, or a relative other than a spouse. However, most protection orders are for women seeking protection from a man they are or have been in an intimate relationship with.
This resource is written for people in British Columbia affected by intimate partner violence or family violence (which includes children or other relatives in the home). The information in this resource applies to people in same-sex relationships and to men who need protection from a partner.
In this resource, we use the word “partner” to mean the person you:
- are or were married to,
- live or lived with in a marriage-like relationship for any length of time,
- dated, or
- have a child with.
This resource doesn’t contain legal advice. It provides information only about peace bonds issued under section 810 of the Criminal Code of Canada, and protection orders issued under section 183 of the Family Law Act of BC.
