The Advocacy Centre

Community-based Victim Services
Offering specialized victim support services; providing practical and emotions support to victims of relationship, family and sexual violence. Brochure – CBVS Brochure 2019 .  We provide support to all genders of people who have been victimized in the following circumstances:

• violence in relationships
• adult sexual assault
• criminal harassment
• stalking
• child abuse (sexual and physical)

We provide an accepting, supportive environment where you can talk about your experience and explore what you want to do about what happened. We will support you throughout the process you choose, whether or not you decide to make a report to the police.

We take confidentiality very seriously, and will not discuss your situation with anyone else without your knowledge and permission, except when required by law to report any child abuse or neglect. Your right to confidentiality will be fully explained to you before any consultation.

Violence Against Women in Relationships
Our victim services are offered to women, men and children who have experienced the violent crimes outlined above. Because the most frequent victims of such crimes are female, much of our support is provided in reaction to violence against women in relationships. Visit the Ending Violence Association of B.C. for more information on violence against women.

What support services are offered?

• an opportunity to speak freely in a safe environment
• information about the criminal justice system, including criminal and family court
• going with you to court
• going with you to talk to the police, crown counsel and lawyers
• helping you with forms if you apply for Crime Victim Assistance benefits or have to provide
• helping you to write a Victim Impact Statement
• crisis counseling
• problem solving
• referrals to other services and agencies, such as transition houses, long term counseling and legal aid
• providing or helping you find resource materials such as books, videos, pamphlets.

Immediate Response to a Recent Assault
If a crime of violence is recent but you are reluctant to go to the police, we can help by listening to your story and helping you to understand how the crime may have affected you. Often this can help to ease the initial shock and trauma of the event. It is up to you to decide if and when you want to make a report to the police.

Making a statement to the police is often one of the most difficult steps for a victim to take. Many are anxious about how the police will respond. We are able to go with you to provide emotional support and advocate for unbiased, sensitive treatment during the interview.

Practical assistance
If a police report has been made, we will help you keep in touch with the police investigation to keep track of what will happen next.

We can help you to fill out an Application for Crime Victim Assistance, which is available through the provincial government to pay for counseling and/or certain kinds of costs that have resulted from the assault.

We can help you decide what kind of counseling support would be most helpful to you and provide referrals to services available in the community.

We can help you put together your Victim Impact Statement. This is a description that you may want to give to the police, or crown counsel or the Crime Victim Assistance Program to let them know in what ways (physical, emotional and financial) you have been affected by the situation. This is often not an easy thing to think about or talk about. We can help you do this in a safe, supportive way until you find the right words to describe your own experience.

We help you to develop a safety plan, usually with the support of the police, which makes sure that you feel safe from any kind of contact with the person who has harmed you.

If charges are laid we can:

• help you to understand the process of arrest and criminal charges and help you to understand your own emotional responses to the process.
• explain the court process from arrest to sentencing
• arrange to have updates of the progress of the court case
• go with you to meet with crown counsel
• prepare you for testifying in court and be with you throughout the court process