Stand Informed
Experienced Sexual Assault? Get Free Legal Advice
Free confidential legal advice to inform your decisions. We stand with you.
How can we help?
Our lawyers provide up to 3 hours of free and confidential legal advice to anyone in British Columbia who has been sexually assaulted. A lawyer will explain your rights and the legal options available to you. If you need more time, your lawyer can request an additional 2 hours to assist you.
We can also assist you to connect with supports, such as counselling, to help you during this time.
To contact Stand Informed Legal Advice Services:
Call: 604-673-3143 or Toll-free 1-888-685-6222
Email: standinformed@clasbc.net
You can also complete our application for legal services and email it to us. We can also talk to you on the phone for the information we need.
Who qualifies?
The service is free and available to you if:
- You were sexually assaulted in BC; and
- you live in British Columbia.
If you are not sure if what happened to you was a sexual assault or not sure if you qualify, please give us a call (604-673-3143) or send us an email (standinformed@clasbc.net).
You do not need to report to the police to use our services. What you decide to do is completely up to you.
What can you expect?
Listening without judgment
After you contact us, our Intake Coordinator will have a short call with you to learn about what happened. You don’t have to provide details to get legal advice. You are welcome to have a support worker or friend on the call if it will help you feel safe and comfortable. We can also provide an interpreter if English is not your first language, or for ASL interpretation.
Matching you with a lawyer
- It can take 1-2 weeks for us to match you with the right lawyer.
- We send you a letter to sign that forms an agreement between you and your lawyer. This helps keep anything you say to the lawyer confidential.
- After you have signed the letter, the lawyer will contact you to set up a meeting. You may meet the lawyer over the phone, by video-conference, or possibly in person. You can let us know if you have a preference. The meeting usually happens within 1-2 weeks after you sign the letter. If English is not your first language, we can provide a free interpreter for all meetings with your lawyer.
Our approach
Our lawyers and staff are trained to take a holistic, trauma-informed approach to helping our clients. This means we understand that what you have experienced is traumatic, and we see you as more than just your legal issue; you are not defined by what happened to you.
We know the idea of talking to a lawyer can feel intimidating. You can talk with your lawyer directly about your situation or have a support worker accompany you. Our lawyers are here to help and support you. They provide you with advice and you decide what you do and don’t want to do.
Finding additional support
Sometimes it is overwhelming to think about all the options and what you want to do. We are here to help and to connect you with organizations that can provide supports. Some services we can refer you to are:
- Community-based Victim Services
- Free counselling
- Health care services
- Support workers
If you are in immediate need of assistance outside our working hours , call or text VictimLinkBC at 1-800-563-0808 or email VictimLinkBC@bc211.ca. Crisis support, information and referrals are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. www.victimlinkbc.ca
Common questions about sexual assault
Sexual assault is when someone touches, or threatens to touch, another person, sexually without consent. Sexual assault is a criminal offense.
Many types of touching without consent, may be considered sexual assault.
An attempted act of sexual assault is considered sexual assault.
If you’re uncomfortable with what happened but you’re not sure if it was sexual assault, give us a call to see if we can help.
Consent is when someone voluntarily agrees to take part in a specific sexual activity. When a person agrees to one sexual activity, it does not mean they consent to a different sexual activity. For example, a person could consent to a hug but not consent to a kiss. Consent needs to be freely given and can be taken away at any time.
- Someone is saying or doing something that shows they are not agreeing to an activity;
- Someone is incapable of agreeing to the activity (e.g. intoxicated or unconscious);
- If someone felt pressured to agree because of the person’s position of power, authority, or trust;
e.g. Manager to an employee, teacher to a student, doctor to a patient
- Someone else cannot consent for another person; or
- When the person involved is under the age of consent (18 or 16 years depending on circumstance).
- It is the responsibility of the person who is pursuing the sexual activity to make sure there is consent. A person cannot say they mistakenly thought they received consent if:
- they did not take steps to ask the other person(s) involved if they consent;
- they were too intoxicated to understand if the other person(s) involved is consenting; or
- they ignored verbal and non-verbal signals that suggest the person is not consenting.
Resources
Information and support, including finding supports near you:
Ending Violence Association BC
Salal Sexual Violence Support Centre
BC Society of Transition Houses
Medical help for sexual assaults:
Specialized services are available at the following locations. Contact your local hospital or call 8-1-1 to find services in your area.
