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BILL OF RIGHTS FOR ASSAULTED WOMEN

"NO MEANS NO"

• I have a right not to be abused.
• I have a right to anger over past beatings.
• I have a right to change the situation.
• I have the right to freedom from fear of abuse.
• I have a right to request and expect assistance from police and social agencies.
• I have a right to share my feelings and not be isolated from others.
• I have a right to want a better role model of communication for my children.
• I have the right to be treated like an adult.
• I have a right to leave the abusive environment.
• I have the right to privacy.
• I have the right to express my own thoughts and feelings.
• I have the right to develop my individual talents and abilities.
• I have the right to legally prosecute the abusing spouse.
• I have the right not to be perfect.
  

Patricia G. Gall and Elizabeth Wyman, "Battered Wives and Powerless Loss: What Can Counsellors Do?" quoted in Deborah Sinclair Understand Wife Assault, p. 108.

An Act Respecting Victims of Crime
- Victims' Bill of Rights, 1995

An Act Respecting Victims of Crime - Victims' Bill of Rights, was proclaimed as law on June 11, 1996. The Act supports and recognizes the needs and rights of victims of crime in both the criminal and civil justice system.

Please visit the Ministry of the Attorney General's website for more information.

http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/about/vw/vicrights.asp

The Canadian Resource Centre for Victims of Crime (CRCVC) offers a FREE publication to assist victims of crime and their families in better understanding the Canadian criminal justice system.   A Victim's Guide to the Canadian Criminal Justice System: Questions and Answers provides comprehensive answers to questions that victims may have about the justice system and their rights as victims.  This guide was developed with the assistance of victims with whom we have worked, to address the feelings of frustration and confusion that many victims face upon entering the criminal justice system.  It attempts to detail the criminal justice process, as experienced by victims.  

Visit http://www.crcvc.ca/docs/A_Victims_Guide_to_the_Canadian_CJS.pdf to download your free copy.  This publication is updated quarterly and can be shared with your colleagues and clients.  It can also be printed out section by section, as required by victims.  Unfortunately, the guide is only available in English at this time.  However, please feel free to share it with colleagues and clients and send any questions or comments to our office. 

The CRCVC (www.crcvc.ca) has been a leader in advocacy for victims and survivors of violent crime in Canada since 1993. We advocate for individual victims and their families in order to assist them in obtaining needed services and resources, and lobby for victims' rights by presenting the interests and perspectives of victims of crime to Government, at all levels.