Canadian law defines consent as your voluntary agreement to engage in sexual activity. Sexual touching is only lawful if you give your permission, either through words or by your actions. Silence or passivity does not equal consent. No one can legally consent to sexual activity in the future when they may be unconscious.

You have not consented to sexual activity if:

• you express by words or actions that you do not agree to engage in the activity
• you are incapable of consenting because you are incapacitated by alcohol and/or drugs
• you are induced to engage in the activity by a person in a position of trust, power or authority, such as a teacher or boss
• you are coerced or physically forced to comply
• you have a disability or mental impairment that prevents you from making an informed choice
• you originally agreed to the activity and then express by words or actions that you no longer agree to continue

If you have just been sexually assaulted, the most important thing is to get to a safe place.

If the sexual assault was recent and if possible, avoid:

• washing yourself
• changing your clothes
• brushing your hair
• If you can, write down, record, or tell someone you trust all the details of the assault you can remember.

If you are the victim of a sexual assault, you have options.

You can report it to the police by calling 9-1-1

When you first call police, a civilian call-taker will ask you for some basic information, and a police officer on patrol will be assigned to investigate. At any time, you can advise police whether you wish to discontinue with a criminal investigation.

What to expect when making a police report

1.  When you first call police, a civilian call-taker will ask you for some basic information, and a police officer on patrol will be assigned to  investigate.
2.  An officer, usually in uniform, will meet with you in person and ask you basic details of what happened to you.
3.  With your permission, the officer will call an ambulance to transport you to a hospital.
4.  Depending on the nature of the sexual assault, you may be asked to have a sexual assault examination at a hospital in Vancouver, Surrey or  Abbotsford, given by a trained doctor or nurse. The exam will help preserve DNA evidence that could assist with the investigation.
5.  To preserve DNA evidence, the officers may ask you to provide the clothing that you were wearing at the time of the assault.
6.  You will be asked to come to the police station to provide details of what happened, which will be recorded.
7.  You will be provided with contact information for Victim Services, or the police officer can provide a referral to Victim Services on your behalf.
8.  With your input, a plan to ensure your safety will be put in place, whether the suspect is known or not known to you.
9.  Your report will be reviewed by a sergeant from the General Investigation Unit (GIU). Depending on a number of factors, a detective from that  unit may be assigned to your file and will continue to investigate it.
10.  You will be kept updated on the progress of the investigation. If you have a support worker, they can also contact the investigator for you.

Someone else, a third-party, can make the report for you.

Third-party reporting is when someone else reports the crime to the police on your behalf.

See more information about how to make a third-party report.

You can choose not to report.

You may choose not to report the sexual assault to the police or to report it at a later time. Please consider going to the hospital to see a doctor and to preserve any DNA evidence that could help investigators if you choose to report later.

If you have a sexual assault examination, it should be done before showering. Ask for blood and urine samples to be taken if you suspect you may have been drugged, and keep any clothing you were wearing at the time of the assault. Medical staff will preserve evidence and will not call the police without your permission.

In order to collect valuable evidence, the Metro Vancouver Transit Police (MVTP) works with Vancouver General Hospital (VGH), Surrey Memorial Hospital (SMH) and Abbotsford Regional Hospital (ARH). Sexual assault victims, adults, and children over the age of 14 years, are encouraged to seek the services of the Sexual Assault Service at VGH, SMH or ARH.

Vancouver General Hospital                   Surrey Memorial Hospital                   Abbotsford Regional Hospital                                                                              (604) 875-2424                                          (604) 953-4723                                      (604) 851-4700 ext 646147                                                                                    899 West 12th Avenue                             13750 96th Avenue                               32900 Marshall Road                                                                                    Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9                           Surrey, BC V3V 1Z2                               Abbotsford, BC V2S 0C2                      

The Program is confidential and staff are trained to collect evidence that can be used in court, with your consent. It is completely your choice whether or not the examiner releases the results of the exam to the police. You do not need to rush to a decision, and can request that the results be held by the hospital for a period of time and not released to the police.      

Parents or guardians of child victims under the age of 13 are encouraged to seek the services at BC Children’s Hospital.

BC Children’s Hospital
(604) 875-2345 or toll-free in BC 1 (888) 300-3088
4500 Oak Street
Vancouver, BC V6H 3N1

You may wish to communicate with a support organization before making a police report.

If you choose, you may have a support person accompany you when you are meeting with police officers or other agencies. Your support person may be a friend or relative or a professional support worker.

See the list of support agencies below.

A sexual assault investigation may include the following investigative steps:

• An interview with you – police officers understand the effect that trauma has on memory, and you may add or change information at any time during or after the initial interview
• An interview with the person you first told about your sexual assault
• An interview of all other witnesses
• CCTV camera footage will be collected and reviewed
• Depending on the nature of the assault, DNA evidence may be summited to the RCMP National Forensic Laboratory for analysis, which can take 65 days, on average, to receive results (the time frame is subject to change and the lab will notify the investigator)
• Judicial authorizations, such as search warrants
• Interview of the suspect

In B.C., police officers can only recommend criminal charges to Crown Counsel. Officers compile the results of their investigation into an evidence disclosure package. Charges will be recommended to Crown Counsel if there is enough evidence to support it. Things like translations, the transcription of interviews, and the processing and analysis of evidence can sometimes delay this step by several months.

Once the disclosure package is complete, it is forwarded to the Provincial Prosecution Service Regional Crown Counsel, who will lay the charge if the package meets their criteria.

You will be told if Crown Counsel decides to lay the charge.

If charges are not recommended, you will be advised and have any of your questions answered. There may be insufficient evidence or other contributing factors that have led investigators and/or Crown Counsel to this decision.

Your case can take several months, or years, to make its way through the court process. You will continue to be supported during this time and can contact the investigator at any time.