Protection Orders for Dating Partners Who Never Lived Together in BC

If a boyfriend or girlfriend is threatening you, you may have searched for a protection order and found that most information assumes a couple who lived together. If you never shared a home, you may wonder whether the law protects you at all.

It does, but the tool may be different. This article explains how the Family Law Act in British Columbia treats dating partners, when a relationship may still count, and what other options exist.

This article covers the law of British Columbia.

Who a Family Law Act protection order can be made against

A protection order under Part 9 of the Family Law Act is only made against a family member. A court may make one if it decides that family violence is likely to occur and the other person is an at-risk family member, meaning someone whose safety and security is or is likely at risk from family violence.

This means dating partners, co-workers or strangers who are not a family member under the Act cannot get a Family Law Act protection order against that person.

Who counts as a family member

The Act defines family member broadly. It includes a spouse or former spouse, a person living or who has lived in a marriage-like relationship, a parent or guardian of the person's child, a person who lives with and is related to the person, and the person's child.

A person is a spouse if married, or if they have lived in a marriage-like relationship for a continuous period of at least 2 years or (except in Parts 5 and 6) have a child with the other person. A spouse includes a former spouse.

• If you were married, you are a spouse or former spouse.
• If you lived together in a marriage-like relationship, you may be covered even if you are no longer together.
• If you share a child, you are a parent or guardian of the person's child, which is also listed as a family member.
• If you are not a family member under the Act, such as a dating partner, co-worker or stranger, you cannot get a Family Law Act protection order against that person, but a criminal peace bond under Criminal Code s 810 can be used against anyone.

Relationships are not always easy to label. If you are unsure whether yours was marriage-like, how this applies depends on your situation, so it is worth confirming with a lawyer.

The peace bond option

A peace bond under Criminal Code s 810 can be used against anyone. If you fear on reasonable grounds that another person will cause personal injury to you, your intimate partner or child, or damage property, you may lay an information.

If the fear is shown to be reasonable, the court may order a recognizance to keep the peace and be of good behaviour for up to 12 months. The court must consider whether a firearms or weapons prohibition is desirable for safety, and if so must add it. A defendant who refuses to enter the recognizance may be imprisoned for up to 12 months.

Breaching a peace bond is an indictable offence with imprisonment up to four years, or a summary conviction offence.

Enforcement and registration

The Protection Order Registry is a confidential database of all family law and criminal protection orders in BC. It holds both Family Law Act orders and criminal orders such as peace bonds. Court staff usually enter orders the same day a judge signs them, so you do not have to ask for registration.

Police can confirm an order's current details by calling a central number at any time of day or night, and then act to enforce it right away. Criminal protection orders such as peace bonds can be enforced anywhere in Canada.

What to do next

• If you are in immediate danger, contact police.
• Keep messages, voicemails, photos and notes of dates and incidents.
• Write down how long you lived together, if ever, and whether you share a child.
• Ask a lawyer whether you count as a family member or whether a peace bond fits better.
• Ask police or Crown counsel how to start a peace bond process.

Frequently asked questions