Where can I find free help when I am the victim of a crime?
Short answer
In Quebec, the crime victims assistance centres (CAVAC) provide information, support through the court process and psychosocial help, free of charge and confidentially. You do not have to have filed a police complaint to use their services.
In detail
The CAVACs are non-profit organizations present in every region of Quebec, with more than 185 service points. They are there for anyone who is the victim of a crime and for their loved ones, whatever the crime.
Their services include information about the court process and about your rights, support at every stage, post-traumatic and psychosocial intervention, and practical help with applications, in particular to the IVAC (Quebec's crime victims compensation program).
Two features are worth underlining. The services are free and confidential. And access does not depend on a complaint having been filed with the police: someone who is still hesitating, or who has chosen not to file a complaint, can still get help.
What to document
Keep your caseworker's contact details and note the date of every meeting. Keep a dated journal of the events and their consequences from the very start: that document is what will later serve for a victim impact statement, an IVAC application or any court proceeding.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
Open the application Up to 3 files, no card · see the plans
Official sources
- Assistance and information services for victims of crime — Gouvernement du Québec
- Crime victims assistance centres (CAVAC)
Related questions
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What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.