Chapter 2: Peace Bonds and Family Law Protection Orders

All protection orders have a list of conditions that a person must follow. The conditions are based on a victim’s own specific safety needs. For example, your partner may be told not to have any direct or indirect contact with you or your children. This means:

• no visits to your home or workplace,
• no visits to your children’s school,
• no phone calls, emails, texts, or letters, and
• no messages through a friend or relative.

The protection order may have other conditions as well. For example, it may require your partner to leave the home or to not own a weapon.

It’s a criminal offence to not obey the conditions in a protection order. If your partner doesn’t follow the conditions, call the police immediately. Breaching a protection order can lead to a fine, probation, or time in jail.

The Protection Order Registry

The Protection Order Registry is a confidential database that contains all protection orders in BC. All peace bonds and family law protection orders are registered after a judge signs them. If you call the police to say that your partner hasn’t obeyed a protection order, the police can get up-to-date information about the order immediately. They can then act to enforce the order as soon as possible.

The following chart shows the important differences between peace bonds and family law protection orders.

See also Peace Bonds and Family Law Protection Orders.

	Peace Bonds	Family Law Protection Orders
	Can be ordered to protect you from anyone, including: “family members,” someone you have only dated, such as a boyfriend or ex-boyfriend, a co-worker, or someone you don’t know but who is harassing you.	Can only be ordered against a ​“family member,” which includes: your partner or former partner, your child’s parent or guardian, a relative of your partner, or a relative of your child’s parent or guardian, or a relative of yours who lives with you.
	Can protect the following: you, your children, your current partner, and your property.	Can protect the following people: you, your children, and other family members who live with you.
	Meant to protect you when you fear for the safety of yourself, your children, or your current partner. It means you’re afraid that someone could: hurt any of you, damage your property, or distribute harassing or sexually explicit material about you.	Meant to protect you from ​“family violence” by a family member, which includes: physical abuse (or attempts), sexual abuse (or attempts), psychological, emotional, or verbal abuse, and children being exposed to family violence.
	You can call the police to ask for a peace bond. You don’t need a lawyer.	You can apply to court for the order with or without a lawyer — it’s your choice, but a lawyer is recommended. You’re responsible for paying the lawyer’s fees, unless you qualify for a lawyer through Legal Aid BC.
	If there’s a court hearing, it will be in criminal court.	There’ll be a court hearing in family court.
	There’s no fee to apply.	There’s no fee to apply in Provincial Court. There is a fee to apply in Supreme Court. If you can’t afford to pay, you can apply to have the fee waived.
	Generally lasts one year.	Lasts until the end date the judge puts on the order. If the judge doesn’t put an end date on the order, it lasts one year.
	Police can enforce a peace bond from BC anywhere in Canada.	Police can enforce a family law protection order from BC anywhere in the province. If you move out of BC: you may be able to register your existing order with the courts in your new location, or you may have to apply for another order in your new location.

Be alerted about a release from jail

The person named in your order may be serving a sentence in a provincial jail. You can register with the Victim Safety Unit to be notified when they’re about to be released. You need to fill out a Victim Safety Unit Notification Application Form. The form is also available at your nearest victim services office.

You can also call the Victim Safety Unit directly and apply over the phone at:
1-877-315-8822

If the person named in your order is serving a sentence in a federal jail, you can register with Correctional Service Canada (CSC) to be notified when they’re about to be released. The Victim Safety Unit can help you register. Or see the CSC website.

Note: The Victim Safety Unit can’t tell you which location the person named on your order is released from.